Luther on Ambition

Psalm 26:2
Examine me oh Lord, and test me. Look closely into my heart and mind.

Martin Luther wrote, "In this passage David says, if doctrine is pure it nothing is lacking in the word and in the preaching, the heart will be pure as well. At the same time, I feel the sinfulness of my corrupt nature. I feel a tendency toward pride, lust, hate, and envy. In particular, there is a subtle poison of selfish ambition has always been to the surface. Even people who understand God's word very well, will often stumble over their own agenda."

Luther believed heresy was an act of the stupid.. "Ambition," he once wrote, "is the mother of all heresies and all sects." Somebody always wants to be special, and are never content with being like everyone else. This is how they wander off the reservation without knowing it!

Luther's advice was for people to pray every day that God would keep their "secret rebel" in check. He quoted Paul from Romans 12:10, Excel and showing respect for each other. Paul acknowledged that the ego, or as he like to call him "the old idiot", always wanted to be the center of attention.

We seem to live in a day and age when the "old idiot" is in charge and wants to be in the center of everyone's attention. People want to say "yeah, he can get the job done! After all, he's a (businessman, well educated, cut above the rest - you can fill in your own blank here}. Luther would say that faith in God's Word should be the most important thing in somebody's life, if you expected them to actually be a leader. It's not enough to protect yourself from shameful weakness, because human vices are so crude they're easy to see. But ambition is a vice that sneaks up on you. It disguises itself as honor, it lets you think you're doing what God wants you to do when all along you are just doing exactly what you want to, and in the end the "secret rebel" in all of us is driving the boat!