1 Timothy 3:1-12

Ambition is not a dirty word. American English defines “ambition” as a strong desire to do or achieve something. By that definition, ambition is morally neutral being neither right nor wrong. Paul said the Greek proverb “Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” was a trustworthy saying, even for the church.

Today, in our culture, we view an ambitious person with skepticism. That is because too many unrighteous people have not allowed morality and ethics to guide their ambition. We are used to seeing people use every unrighteous means available to achieve what they desire. Paul’s culture had the same problem; he made a point of saying a Christian overseer or leader needed to be above reproach. Paul gave several examples from different aspects of righteous living to illustrate areas of a person’s life that the church needed to be particularly mindful of when picking their leaders.

Christian leaders needed to be righteous in all aspects pertaining to family life and sexual morality. In our modern age with Internet, books, video and so much more, the rules have changed, but the principle of moral purity remains. Christian leaders need to be righteous in their personalities and character traits. Personal righteousness requires self-control, meekness of spirit, moderation and balance in all things, and the heart of a peacemaker. A Christian leader needs to be mature in the faith with a solid working understanding of Christian theology. They need to be able to teach what they know and inspire others by their own example. Men and women both need to demonstrate good management and parenting skills. Paul gave us many examples, but he did not give us a way to choose our leaders based on a simple checklist.

Churches need to use care when choosing their leaders. The people making the choice are as important to the health of the church as the leaders they are selecting. The church needs ambitious people, but they need to be righteous people with the right ambitions.