RELIGIOUS AMBITION – by A.W. Tozer

THEY TRUSTED IN THEMSELVES

"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."    Luke 18:9-12

            Religious ambition is probably the most deceptive of all the veils. A person can be very religiously ambitious. We see this all the time. Unfortunately, religious ambition usually distorts the will of God. It works something like this. Most people want their church to grow and be a mighty force for God in their community. And this is admirable. But along comes a religiously ambitious person who generates so much excitement among the people that they forget what their purpose in the community is all about. 

It is not bigness that God honors. In fact, most of the time huge crowds hinder what God really wants to do. Some pastors are pushing their churches beyond the scope of divine authority. Some churches are more into politics. Some are more into the social concerns. For other churches, the great interest is education. All of these things are good but not one of them is part of the commission God gave the Church. 

Simply because a person cloaks something with religious terminology does not make that thing an approved work of God. Religious ambition easily distorts and veils the approval of God upon a company of people.