It is so often the case that a virtue can, by a slight misuse or perversion, become a vice. So it is with ambition. We applaud those who are creative, who seek new and unusual ways to do their job more effectively. We teach our daughters to look carefully for spiritual strength, dependability, consistency, kindness, and yes, ambition in young men they date and may choose to marry. We recognize and honor those who are ambitious, who have a strong work ethic, and who know where they want to go in life. Indeed, people without ambition tend to wander, to hop from one attractive enterprise to another. They are unstable, bored, stagnant, and easily distracted. They have trouble focusing on a main idea and difficulty in moving down a planned pathway.
It is worth noting that though some of the dictionary definitions of the word ambition are positive and affirming, a surprising number are negative. For example, "an ardent (orig. inordinate) desire for distinction; . . . ostentatious; . . . display, pomp; . . . personal solicitation of honours; an aspiration to be, to do" (New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 64). We can thus gain some appreciation of why "vain ambition" is included in the sobering list of sins that prevent those who are called from being chosen. "And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men" (D&C 121:34-35, emphasis added).
The vainly ambitious in the kingdom of God "aspire to the honors of men." Let us break this thought down. To begin with, there is nothing wrong with aspiring to greatness, aspiring to spirituality, aspiring to be the best we can be. There is surely no sin in seeking to be better, sharper, more proficient, more intelligent, more effective. In fact we really ought to work smarter in the Church and kingdom of God. And, secondly, there is nothing wrong with receiving the honors of men.
This is how it should be: the disciples of Christ, the Saints of the Most High, are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, to make a difference because they are different, to allow their influence to be felt. Where we get into difficulty is not in aspiring, nor is it in receiving honors. It is when we aspire to the honors of men. That is, we cross the line of gospel propriety when we seek for the honors of others.
Let's be realistic for a moment. Each of us wants to feel needed, to feel appreciated, to be told that our meager efforts make a difference and that we are genuinely valued. In short, we all would like to be counted as persons worthy of recognition and honor. As we mature in the things of the Spirit, however, we begin to find personal satisfaction in a job well done, a good deed rendered, a church calling magnified, even if those contributions are not publicly acknowledged. Ideally, we are content to know what we have done and to know that God knows it.
The warning is not simply against ambition but against vain ambition. Something is vain when it is empty, shallow, meaningless in the eternal scheme of things. We have been called to labor. We have been selected to make choices, to set priorities, to see to it that we value some things more than others. There are men throughout the world who labor long hours in making a living. Some spend the greater part of the day adding to their pile of surplus, expanding upon the affluence they have already attained. Others build houses that more closely approximate castles, residences that almost resemble cathedrals.
We ask ourselves, though, shouldn't we seek to excel? Certainly we should do the work of the Lord excellently. Certainly we should seek to hold excellent, as opposed to shoddy, family prayers, family scripture readings, and family home evenings. Certainly we should be excellent in our attendance at church meetings, a regular, active, practicing, and involved member of the body of Christ. And so forth.
Our Lord and Redeemer taught a deeply profound lesson in a few words: "I receive not honour from men" (John 5:41). He did not court favor and was no respecter of persons. With all the light and knowledge and power at his disposal, he did not do things to make a good impression; he did not manage appearances, so that the Jews or the Gentiles would be wowed by his presence or his precepts. He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38), but he did not put on airs. He served his fellow beings on earth, but he did so without fanfare. He lived a life in which he was so constantly inconvenienced, but he never boasted of it. He was who he was, and he thereby stands as our Model and our Prototype. His ambition was sublime, the grandest and most profound of all ambitions, namely, to save every living soul.
Excerpts from "Stifling Vain Ambition." Adapted from Men of Influence, by Robert Millet. Copyright 2009, Deseret Book
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