Overcoming Ambition: Embracing Childlike Humility and Love
Summary
### Summary
This weekend's readings focus on the vice of ambition, a topic that is particularly relevant in our culture today. While ambition can be a positive force, driving us to strive for excellence and greatness, it can also become a vice when it stems from ego and pride. St. Thomas Aquinas categorizes ambition under the virtue of magnanimity, which means greatness of soul. However, when magnanimity is either lacking or in excess, it can lead to vices such as pusillanimity (shrinking away from greatness) or excessive ambition (seeking status and recognition for selfish reasons).
The Book of James warns that where selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every kind of foul practice. This disorder is evident in our society, especially among adolescents who face extreme pressure to excel. Studies show that this pressure can lead to high levels of stress, anxiety, and even substance abuse. Jennifer Wallace's book, "Never Enough," highlights how our culture's hyper-competitive nature can be toxic, making children feel that their worth is contingent on their performance rather than who they are at their core.
Jesus provides the antidote to this vice by emphasizing the qualities of a child—humility, dependence, and a pure desire to be loved. When the disciples argued about who among them was the greatest, Jesus placed a child in their midst, teaching them that true greatness lies in becoming like a child. Children naturally seek love and affirmation, not based on their achievements but simply for who they are. This childlike quality is what we need to cultivate to heal the vice of ambition.
A touching story about a boy named Micah illustrates this point. Micah, who is very affectionate, left a note for his father saying, "Dad, I love you. Do you love me?" This simple act wasn't born out of insecurity but a genuine desire to hear his father's affirmation. Similarly, we need to seek God's love and affirmation, asking Him, "Dad, I love you. Do you love me?" This divine love is the medicine that heals the disorder and foul practices caused by the vice of ambition.
### Key Takeaways
1. Ambition vs. Magnanimity: Ambition becomes a vice when it stems from ego and pride, seeking status and recognition for selfish reasons. True magnanimity, or greatness of soul, involves striving for excellence with humility and a desire to serve others. [01:39]
2. Disorder from Selfish Ambition: The Book of James warns that selfish ambition leads to disorder and foul practices within the soul and community. This disorder is evident in our society, especially among adolescents who face extreme pressure to excel, leading to stress, anxiety, and substance abuse. [03:40]
3. Cultural Pressures: Our hyper-competitive culture often makes children feel that their worth is contingent on their performance. This toxic achievement culture can be harmful, causing them to sacrifice their mental and physical well-being. [05:14]
4. Childlike Qualities: Jesus teaches that true greatness lies in becoming like a child, who naturally seeks love and affirmation not based on achievements but simply for who they are. This childlike humility and dependence are essential to overcoming the vice of ambition. [08:44]
5. Divine Affirmation: Just as Micah sought his father's affirmation, we need to seek God's love and affirmation. Asking God, "Dad, I love you. Do you love me?" and soaking up His affirmative answer is the medicine that heals the disorder caused by the vice of ambition. [12:20]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[0:30] - Introduction to the Vice of Ambition
[01:39] - Distinction Between Magnanimity and Ambition
[03:40] - The Disorder Caused by Selfish Ambition
[05:14] - Cultural Pressures and Their Impact
[06:42] - The Need for Pure Motivation
[08:44] - Jesus' Teaching on Childlike Qualities
[10:16] - Story of Micah and His Father's Love
[12:20] - Seeking Divine Affirmation
[13:00] - Conclusion and Call to Reflect
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. James 3:16 - "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."
2. Matthew 18:3-4 - "And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"
#### Observation Questions
1. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, what is the difference between magnanimity and ambition? [01:39]
2. What does the Book of James say about the consequences of selfish ambition? [03:40]
3. How does our culture's hyper-competitive nature affect children, according to Jennifer Wallace's book "Never Enough"? [05:14]
4. What qualities of a child does Jesus highlight as essential for true greatness? [08:44]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the vice of ambition manifest in today's society, especially among adolescents? [03:40]
2. Why does Jesus use a child as an example when teaching about true greatness? [08:44]
3. How can seeking God's love and affirmation help heal the vice of ambition? [12:20]
4. What does it mean to have a "greatness of soul" according to St. Thomas Aquinas, and how can it be achieved without falling into the vice of ambition? [01:39]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt pressured to achieve or excel. How did it affect your mental and physical well-being? What steps can you take to manage such pressures in the future? [05:14]
2. In what ways can you cultivate childlike qualities such as humility and dependence in your daily life? How might this change your approach to ambition? [08:44]
3. Think about a specific area in your life where you seek recognition or status. How can you shift your motivation to align more with serving others and seeking God's affirmation? [12:20]
4. How can you support the young people in your life to feel valued for who they are rather than what they achieve? What practical steps can you take to communicate this to them? [05:14]
5. When was the last time you sought God's affirmation in a personal and heartfelt way? How did it impact your sense of worth and ambition? [12:20]
6. Identify a situation where you might be exhibiting the vice of ambition. What practical changes can you make to address this and cultivate a healthier form of ambition? [01:39]
7. How can you create an environment in your community or family that prioritizes love and affirmation over achievement and status? What specific actions can you take to foster this environment? [05:14]
Devotional
Day 1: Ambition vs. Magnanimity
Ambition can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can drive us to achieve great things and strive for excellence. On the other hand, when it is fueled by ego and pride, it becomes a vice that seeks status and recognition for selfish reasons. St. Thomas Aquinas categorizes ambition under the virtue of magnanimity, which means greatness of soul. True magnanimity involves striving for excellence with humility and a desire to serve others. When magnanimity is either lacking or in excess, it can lead to vices such as pusillanimity (shrinking away from greatness) or excessive ambition (seeking status and recognition for selfish reasons). [01:39]
1 Peter 5:5-6 (ESV): "Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you."
Reflection: In what areas of your life do you find yourself seeking recognition or status for selfish reasons? How can you shift your focus to serving others with humility?
Day 2: Disorder from Selfish Ambition
The Book of James warns that where selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every kind of foul practice. This disorder is evident in our society, especially among adolescents who face extreme pressure to excel. Studies show that this pressure can lead to high levels of stress, anxiety, and even substance abuse. When ambition is driven by selfish motives, it creates chaos within the soul and the community. It disrupts relationships and leads to unethical behavior as individuals prioritize their own success over the well-being of others. [03:40]
James 3:16-17 (ESV): "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when your ambition led to disorder or conflict in your life. How can you seek God's wisdom to guide your ambitions in a way that promotes peace and integrity?
Day 3: Cultural Pressures
Our hyper-competitive culture often makes children feel that their worth is contingent on their performance. This toxic achievement culture can be harmful, causing them to sacrifice their mental and physical well-being. Jennifer Wallace's book, "Never Enough," highlights how our culture's hyper-competitive nature can be toxic, making children feel that their worth is contingent on their performance rather than who they are at their core. This pressure to excel can lead to stress, anxiety, and even substance abuse as children strive to meet unrealistic expectations. [05:14]
Ecclesiastes 4:4 (ESV): "Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind."
Reflection: How has the pressure to perform affected your sense of self-worth? What steps can you take to remind yourself and others that worth is not based on achievements but on being a beloved child of God?
Day 4: Childlike Qualities
Jesus teaches that true greatness lies in becoming like a child, who naturally seeks love and affirmation not based on achievements but simply for who they are. When the disciples argued about who among them was the greatest, Jesus placed a child in their midst, teaching them that true greatness lies in becoming like a child. Children naturally seek love and affirmation, not based on their achievements but simply for who they are. This childlike quality is what we need to cultivate to heal the vice of ambition. [08:44]
Matthew 18:3-4 (ESV): "And said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"
Reflection: What childlike qualities do you need to cultivate in your life to overcome selfish ambition? How can you practice humility and dependence on God in your daily actions?
Day 5: Divine Affirmation
Just as Micah sought his father's affirmation, we need to seek God's love and affirmation. Asking God, "Dad, I love you. Do you love me?" and soaking up His affirmative answer is the medicine that heals the disorder caused by the vice of ambition. This divine love is the medicine that heals the disorder and foul practices caused by the vice of ambition. When we seek God's love and affirmation, we are reminded of our true worth and are freed from the need to seek validation through our achievements. [12:20]
Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV): "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."
Reflection: Take a moment to ask God, "Dad, I love you. Do you love me?" How does knowing God's love and affirmation change the way you view your ambitions and achievements?
Quotes
1. "Ambition can be a good, healthy thing, but if it's in excess, it can become a vice. And I think with the age of social media that we're in, I think with the pressure within the suburbs and in the city, we're seeing the vice of ambition and the sickness that's caused from it, the sickness. Book of James puts it rather bluntly. We heard it in our second reading, the very first verse, we're in chapter three, verse 16. He says, where selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every kind of foul practice. Where there's the vice of ambition within the soul, there will be a trail eventually that leads to disorder. The soul will become disordered. Community will become disordered. Society, foul practice within the soul." [03:40] (65 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "As parents, we sometimes think our role is to help fuel and support our kids' ambition. But in a hyper competitive culture in which we find ourselves in, kids sometimes need the opposite. They need the adults in their lives to prevent them from sacrificing their mind. They need the adults in their lives to prevent them from sacrificing their minds and bodies on the altar of achievement. And to teach them how to build the kind of life, they won't need substances to escape. One more, she says, what emerged from my research hit me like an ice bath. Our kids are absorbing the idea that their worth is contingent on their performance, their GPA, the number of social media followers they have, the college they get into, not for who they are deep at their core. They feel they only matter to the adults in their lives, their peers, the larger community. If they are successful, ambition can be a good thing." [06:42] (68 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Luckily, with the sickness, there's a medicine. We see it rather quickly when Jesus sniffs it out. You have the disciples, that are walking along the way. They get there. Jesus noticed that they were talking amongst each other and say, hey, what were you talking about? We were talking about who's the greatest among us. Jesus sniffs out the ego there. He sniffs out that there's some vice of ambition going on. The very next thing he does is he takes a little child and places it in their midst, and he puts his arm around it. Jesus uses children numerous times in the scriptures of today. He says, when you receive this child, you receive me. Other places, he says, unless you become like this child, you can't inherit the kingdom of heaven." [08:44] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "There's one child or quality in a child that's increasingly on display for me, I think, on Mondays when I go home and I'm with my twin sister's kids, my nephews, who's four years old right now, two-year-old, and a seven-month-old. There's a lot of crying, a lot of tears, and most of the tears, I'm convinced, in the seven-month-old, two-year-old, and the four-year-old, the tears are their desire. They're their desire just to be loved, whether it's they just got hit on the head, but they want to be known, they want to be loved, they want to be held. A child's ability to recognize their own desire to receive love and to be loved, and that it's not contingent on success or anything else." [09:50] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Can you see that you, you and I are no different than Micah? That our deepest need is to hear the father say, I love you, daughter. I love you, son. I see you. I recognize you. You don't have to be the greatest. You don't have to be the greatest. Let me put my arms around you. See, that's what, that's what heals the vice of ambition. That most of us have little corners in our hearts that have, for recognition and status and honor. What those spots ultimately are is us making that move of dad, I love you. Do you love me?" [12:20] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained only on this specific sermon. Do you have any questions about it?