How do I make God the center of my ambition without losing my drive for success? This is Lead in 10. I'm Chris Moore. Let's talk about one of the most common tensions. Christian leaders face ambition. We want to grow our businesses. We want to succeed. We want to make an impact, but if we're honest, we wanna win. That's not always easy to admit in church circles, but it's real. And ambition by itself isn't wrong. The question is, what's driving it? Is it a God-given desire to steward your gifts well, or is it about approval, pride, or proving something to yourself or someone else? Let's go to scripture in Matthew chapter six, verse 33. Jesus says, But, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Now, we've all heard this verse from an early age if you grew up in church, but sometimes we treat it like a spiritual side note. Jesus isn't saying Don't pursue success, he's saying, put the kingdom of God first. Let God set the terms., And then in Proverbs, chapter 16, uh, verse three, my dad's favorite book we read, commit Thou Works unto the Lord and Thy Thoughts shall be established. The word commit means to roll something over to hand over the weight of your plans. Place them fully in God's hands. It's not always easy. So here's today's principle. Ambition becomes holy when it's surrendered. Let's make it practical with four steps to help you keep God at the center of your ambition without losing your drive. Step one. Examine your motives. Why is it that you're working so hard? Is it to make a difference or to make a name? Is it about impact or is it about your image? God cares more about why you're building something than what you are building. Ask yourself, would I still pursue this goal if no one ever noticed except for God? If the answer is yes, you're probably on the right track. If the answer is no, pause and maybe check your heart. Ambition isn't bad, but unexamined ambition quietly starts to drift towards pride. The Bible says pride goeth before a fall. Step two, invite God into those goals. Today, often we create plans and we ask God to bless them. Here's what I'm gonna do. God bless me in this, but Kingdom leadership flips that script. We seek Him first. We let the plans flow from there. So before you launch the new campaign, before you expand your business, before you chase the next big opportunity on the horizon that you're so excited about, get quiet, get humble, say, Lord, what do you want? That doesn't mean you abandon excellence. It means you surrender the outcome and walk in step with him. We can hurry towards things that are wrong for us or wrong for our families, that separate us from God and from those we love and who love us, can't let our ambition make that happen. Step number three, trust that obedience leads to results God's way. This is where we struggle.'cause sometimes obedience doesn't look successful at first. Uh, you forgive when it would be easier to retaliate. You choose integrity over shortcuts. You serve faithfully even when it's not flashy. But listen, obedience is success in God's eyes. We live in a world that chases platforms and praise social media, fame, fortune, but in the kingdom. We chase faithfulness. Your job is obedience. God's job is the outcome. Step number four, let your ambition serve others, not just yourself. If your vision only benefits you, it's too small, and I've talked about this and in all of my work. If your vision doesn't include your customers, your team, and what their lives are like because of what you're doing. Your vision's too small. Your vision is only benefiting you. God doesn't give influence so we can build personal empires. He gives it so we can bless, so we can serve. Serve him, serve his plan, serve those around us, and multiply what he has entrusted to us. So ask, who will be better because I succeeded. How will this growth, bless others? Is this dream anchored in God's purpose? Or is it just pressure? When your ambition lifts others, it reflects the heart of Jesus. He had all power, but he used it to serve. That's leadership that's worth following. If you wanna be that kind of leader, take the same actions that Jesus did. Now, let me give you two common pitfalls to watch out for pitfall number one. We use spiritual language to justify our selfish ambition. We say things like, I'm just building God's kingdom, but really we're building our own platform and just hoping that he approves. It's easy to slap a Christian label on what's really just your personal quest. If you're unsure or ask someone who knows you well, let them speak into your blind spots. That humility can keep you and protect you from drifting. Pitfall Number two, thinking small equals being spiritual. Some Christians shrink back from ambition because they're afraid of pride. Maybe you mistakenly think that God wants you to be poor and downtrodden and beaten down. He doesn't. He wants what's best for you. He just doesn't want success and pride to come before him. If you're not willing to give all that away for him, it's not gonna support you in it. So some Christians think because of that, they don't want to look worldly or seem self-promoting, but playing small doesn't honor God. If he's called you to go big, if he wants you to grow a Chick-fil-A. A hobby lobby or some other large enterprise that can not only spread his word and how he thinks into the marketplace, but also help countless people who need jobs, need a good culture, need a place where they can serve as Christ served. The servant who buried his talent wasn't called wise. He was called wicked by God. If God has given you a vision, steward it boldly. Just do it with surrendered hands in a submitted heart. So let's wrap up with the reflection and action step. Here's your reflection question. Is there any area of my ambition that I've kept off the altar? Might be finances. It might be a desire for recognition, for fame. Uh, it might be your goals for your business. Whatever it is, bring it back to the feet of Jesus. And here's your action step. Take one major goal you're pursuing right now, and write a simple prayer of surrender. Lord, if this is your will, strengthen it. If it's not, shut it down Either way. I trust you, man. That's a powerful and scary prayer. God's not trying to kill your drive. He's trying to direct it. When you seek first his kingdom, the results will take care of themselves. This is Lead in 10. I'm Chris Moore. This episode helped realign your ambition. Would you take a second to like, subscribe? Most importantly, share it with someone else. We've got more coming, some practical biblical wisdom to answer some of these common questions that we run into as managers, as leaders, as people in the marketplace, we want to help you lead like Jesus in the real world. I'll see you next time.