God wants you to be ambitious.
In Christian circles, we usually associate ambition with greed, cutthroat corporate behavior, and prosperity gospel preaching. Our sinful desires can often lead us down these paths.
Godly ambition, on the other hand, is when we aspire to build, to create, and to be salt and light for His kingdom. The Great Commission directs our ambitions, so we don’t spend our days merely existing as couch potatoes but instead, are gathering a harvest.
Deep down, we want to be recognized, respected, and renowned. It’s not sinful to receive any of “the three R’s” but if your character can’t handle the platform you’ve been given, you’ll find yourself in a whole lot of trouble.
That brings us to Prince Absalom. He is the avatar for when ambition gets polluted by entitlement.
Not only was he a son of David, but “in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him” (2 Samuel 14:25).
He had the look of a king, not to mention royal blood. But he was not in line for the throne. He was not the oldest son, and God had smiled on the younger Solomon to be the successor.
The man who felt he was owed the entire kingdom would not stop at nothing to get it.
The Backstory
Absalom had a half-brother, Amnon. Amnon desired to have Absalom’s sister, Tamar. That desire was incestuous, since Tamar was Amnon’s half-sister. In a series of premeditated events, Amnon rapes Tamar after she refuses to sleep with him.
Absalom waits two years to exact revenge. He invites all the king’s sons, including Amnon, to a sheep shearing festival. After much feasting and wine, Amnon is buzzed. Absalom gives the pre-planned order to his associates, who kill Amnon.
Absalom flees to his grandfather, Talmai, king of Geshur, and lives there three years. Joab, general of the armies of Israel, works behind the scenes to get Absalom back to Jerusalem. Joab knew David missed his prodigal son, even if he was a murderer.
David permits Absalom to return, but refuses to see his son for two years. Absalom, not one to cool his heels, seethes.
Now we get into the good stuff. What follows are the ways wrong ambition can destroy yourself and others.
Provoke, Provoke, Provoke
After two years, Absalom sent word to Joab, requesting an audience with the king. Joab refused. Absalom tried a second time. Joab again declined.
Not one to be deterred, Absalom orders his servants to set Joab’s barley fields on fire. That got Joab’s attention and when he demands an explanation, Absalom says it would have been better if he never returned to Jerusalem if he was never going to see the king.
Job, with the smell of charred barley in his nostrils, goes to the king and asks that Absalom has an audience.
Absalom was the type of guy that could both light up a room and hold it hostage when he didn’t get what he wanted.
Lesson #1 is, if you throw tantrums and provoke people to get what you want, your ambition isn’t Godly.
Defy, Defy, Defy
David granted Absalom an audience and grants his forgiveness.
What does Absalom turn around and do? He gets himself a chariot and horses, with fifty men to run before him. Then, he posts up at Jerusalem’s gates and hears the claims of different Israelites. How noble of him…except for the fact that he didn’t have the authority to do that.
He was undermining his father David, the king. He’d say things like, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice” (2 Samuel 15:4). Through a wink and a nod, he was defying his father.
Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
– 2 Samuel 15:6
How quickly Absalom forgot what he had been forgiven of (murder)! Part of me thinks that, when he originally returned to Jerusalem, David was going to name him successor. When David didn’t do so, Absalom set up a “counterfeit kingdom” by publicly playing the role of a king.
He was preying on his father’s weakness as a leader. When Amnon raped Tamar, David was angry but did nothing. When Absalom murdered Amnon in revenge, David did nothing. When Absalom started holding court in the public square, clearly defying the king, David still did nothing. Absalom took note of all this and decided, “I’m going to do something about it.”
Lesson #2 is, if you try to usurp authority at every turn, your ambition isn’t Godly. You ever see someone in your church who simply won’t take correction and cannot be corralled? If you find yourself being that person, stop, drop, and roll, because you’re starting a five-alarm fire.
Conspire, Conspire, Conspire
Absalom gathered strength, including the popular support of the people. So he sent messengers throughout Israel and put out the word that he was going to take over.
And at the end of four years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron. For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.’”
The king said to him, “Go in peace.”
So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’”
With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing.
And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.
– 2 Samuel 15:7-12
It worked to perfection. Almost.
Absalom and the conspirators took over the kingdom and David fled with his supporters.
But Absalom failed to overtake David and kill him quickly. David’s forces engaged those of Absalom in the forest of Ephraim. Absalom and his men are routed, with Absalom being killed when he was on horseback and got his hair entangled in a tree branch.
Chances are your ambitions aren’t kingdom-sized or will turn you into a revolutionary.
Yet Lesson #3 applies the same. If you conspire and continually manipulate people and circumstances, you’ll get entangled, just like Absalom.
It could be something as simple as disparaging a co-worker so you get the promotion instead. It could be stirring up drama among friends or family so you can get your way. It could be gossiping in your church small group.
So if you ever feel off kilter, just apply this “Absalom test” and measure accordingly. You may end up saving yourself a whole a whole heap of trouble.
replenishstories.com 