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What does Healthy Ambition Look Like?
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were rivals but it was interesting to see how their motives evolved. Initially they both wanted to impress Princess Lea and this is what drove them. As the trilogy progressed, the greater good became the focus, especially for Luke.
I hope I haven’t lost you, if you are not a Star Wars fan. Become one.
Let me help you out with another analogy. Right now we have just gone through the stress of the American presidential elections and we saw two men compete for one position. The choice to vote for one or the other was determined by their appeal to the masses based on what they could provide in terms of making America great again. However, sometimes it did not seem like that was the focus. Sometimes it felt like the battle was for bragging rights.
I can understand how it is easy to loose sight of what is important especially when everything seems like a competition. Ambition has been conceptualized in terms of competition for a lot of us. Competition places people in direct opposition to someone else. Then the focus becomes solely to be better than the other person, which can lead to hatred, corruption, and destruction. For a biblical example, think of Saul and David, David and Goliath, and even as early as Cain and Abel.
