Disney And The Tower Of BabelSample

New Ambition for Our Work

As Christians, is it possible to be ambitious in our work and still have our self-worth and identity firmly rooted in Jesus Christ?

Throughout Scripture, we are commanded to work hard. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.” As we have seen in the past two days, Walt Disney and the Babylonians clearly worked with all their heart. So why does the Bible tell us that God punished the Babylonians, while at the same time still calling us to work with great ambition? The distinction can be found in the second half of Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

The difference lies in why we work. Ambition is not an inherently bad thing. It’s the subject of our ambition that matters to God. Our ambition can be incredibly God-honoring if we recognize two things. 

First, we must recognize that salvation comes through the gracious sacrifice Jesus Christ alone. What does the cross have to do with our motivations for our work? Everything! Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, we have been trying to cover up our sin, not with fig leafs, but with our accomplishments. We think that if we write a bestselling book, or sell a business for millions of dollars, or get 100,000 Instagram followers, or build the world’s tallest tower, or open the world’s most popular theme park, then we’ll be OK. Essentially, we use work as a means of saving ourselves. But through Christ, we know that the work of salvation is complete!

The second thing we must recognize is that work is an inherently good thing. It existed before the Fall, and thus, was intended by God to be an act of worship. Work is not a curse. Work is one of the primary ways in which we love our neighbors as ourselves.

With the freedom of the gospel and the reminder of the goodness of our work, we are free to be the most ambitious people on the planet as we view our work as a primary way in which we join our Lord in the restoration and redemption of the world around us. We should create the world’s greatest theme parks, towers, businesses, films, non-profits, and schools. But we need not work so tirelessly to where we confuse our work with our worth. We are worthy because Jesus has redeemed us, not because of any professional success or failure we might experience. And it is that security that should propel us to be the bolest, most ambitious culture creators in the world, intent on creating for the glory of God and the good of others, rather than ourselves.

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