Purpose vs Ambition Series. What Drives Your Life? (Part 1)

Hi dear friends,

A few weeks ago I had a rare privilege of speaking to a very distinct group of high profile students at the American University of Nigeria. I had served as their Pastor and President for one year and had one of the most remarkable experiences for life and ministry. I shared with them a teaching that had been on my spirit for months. Today I share the same thoughts with you and I know that as it blessed them it will bless you also. Follow me carefully.

We live in a world that is filled with so many opportunities. A world bustling with so many interesting avenues for people to reach new heights, make advancements in life, develop, grow and become. Interestingly (or should I say disturbingly) surrounded by these numerous amazing opportunities, we have to make decisions that can be so weighty, that they define the quality of life that we live.

There is a difference between Purpose and Ambition. 'Versus' reveals that there is a struggle for dominance. People are either driven by purpose or Ambition and it matters which one we allow to win.

Ambition is a person's logical decision about what direction their lives will take. People make decisions about what they will spend the rest of their lives doing. These decisions are usually based on (but not limited to) EXPOSURE, ASSOCIATIONS AND ASSIMILATION.

Purpose on the other hand is a person's decision to live life as revealed by God. Purpose is the reason (as revealed by God) why a person showed up in the earth. You might wonder why these are two (Purpose and Ambition) are so distinct. One reveals that life has a meaning while the other leaves you wondering what life is all about. One ensures that we live life to the full as we find our place in a complex world. The other suggests that we showed up just to chase the wind, nothing special.

NB: Purpose is not a destination. It is a process. Purpose is a journey of a lifetime and you can only get to the destination after you have fulfilled the process.

Several individuals in the world (Christians more especially) believe that life has no meaning at all. The Christians quote scriptures from Ecclesiastics that says that life is vanity upon vanity. They say things like "nobody will leave this world with anything. We all came empty and we will all leave empty". I have a strong scripture to "validate" some of the claims that these guys make. Ecclesiastics 9:9 says Enjoy Life with your wife, whom you  love, all the days of this MEANINGLESS LIFE that GOD has given YOU under the sun-all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the son. Wow! Does this mean that life truly doesn't have a meaning? Considering that the word of God talks about life being meaningless.

I will answer these questions and give insights in the Part 2 of this series.