FALSE AMBITION

The sons of Zebedee came with their mother to ask for positions in the kingdom. They were seeking personal greatness. God never grants anyone greatness that is not geared towards service. They wanted position, recognition, power and authority. In order to get what they wanted, they used their mother. They thought that their mother could influence Jesus. They did not want greatness on qualification, but by connection. Ambition often pushes someone to use other people to achieve their ends. False ambition misuses influence, position and power. Among the twelve disciples of Jesus only three – peter, James and john formed the inner cycle. These three saw and witnessed many things that the others did not see. James and john must have been thinking they were superior to others because of the great privilege that Jesus gave them. Hence they wanted to sieze the opportunity to secure positions in heaven using their mother’s influence.

The root of false ambition is pride. The two brothers must have felt special among other disciples. They must have felt uniquely favoured and loved. They believed their prayer would be answered because they had succeeded in convincing themselves that those positions belonged to no other persons than themselves, based on the privileges they had enjoyed. They thought others inferior to themselves. False ambition is bad and should be avoided. There is good and healthy ambition. Good ambition gives meaning, purpose and significance to life. It builds drives, goals and initiatives. But bad ambition destroys, corrupts. It only thinks about power and exaltation. It is rooted in pride. Avoid it