Tiago 3

Tiago 3

Vincent says eritheia can "be applied to those who serve in official positions for their own selfish interest, and who, to that end, promote party spirit and faction." ESV Study Bible on selfish ambition - “Selfish ambition” is a divisive willingness to split the group in order to achieve personal power and prestige (it is translated “rivalry” in Gal. 5:20; Phil. 1:17; 2:3). (Borrow ESV Study Bible) Dan McCartney: Ambitious boasting is another way to evince a false faith and earthly wisdom. Human wisdom seeks self-advancement and is anything but humble, especially when it achieves worldly success. Indeed, Greek wisdom gives advice on being successful in the world. But anything that generates, or is generated by, jealousy (envy of someone else’s success) or selfish ambition (the desire to achieve one’s own advancement at the expense of others) is a denial of the teaching of Jesus, as well as the OT, and hence to boast of that kind of wisdom is to “give the lie to the truth,” that is, to the gospel (1:18; cf. 5:19). One form of such ambition is the desire to be a teacher, and certainly the honor of being called “teacher” can have the form of worldly success, but without humility, teaching becomes boasting (Hort 1909: 83). (James - Page 222) Daniel Doriani: The Bible never praises selfish ambition, but to be accurate, we must say the Bible praises what we might call aspirations. For example, we should aspire to a quiet and productive life (1 Thess. 4:11). We should aspire to please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9). Paul aspired to preach the gospel where the name of Christ was unknown (Rom. 15:20). So it is fine to have goals or aspirations. We may have goals for the development of our gifts, for our family, for the lost, or for growth in wisdom or righteousness. God blesses those who have a passion for social justice. Everyone who is energetic, everyone with a taste for life, has ambitions. The Lord simply wants them to be godly, not worldly. MacArthur on selfish ambition - It was used of personal gratification and self-fulfillment at any cost, which are the ultimate goals of all fleshly endeavors. It has no room for others, much less genuine humility. It is that ultimate self-elevation rampant in the world today which is the antithesis of what the humble, selfless, giving, loving, and obedient child of God is called to be. (James Commentary - Page 171) Utley on selfish ambition - It refers to an egotistical, jealous ambition—“my way or no way”—among leaders. Life Application Study Bible. - Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are inspired by the devil. It is easy for us to be drawn into wrong desires by the pressures of society and sometimes even by well-meaning Christians. By listening to the advice: "Assert yourself," "Go for it," "Set high goals," we can be drawn into greed and destructive competitiveness. Seeking God's wisdom delivers us from the need to compare ourselves to others and to want what they have. (Borrow Life Application Study Bible) John