In today’s devotional, Dr. Michael Youssef examines the danger of unchecked selfish ambition.
If you would like more insight into today’s devotional topic, watch or listen to Dr. Michael Youssef’s sermon series A Heart for God: WATCH NOW | LISTEN NOW
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[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: You are listening to MY Devotional, the daily devotional from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading
[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: The Way.
[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Champions Live with Integrity by Dr. Michael Youssef
[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_01]: If we desire to have true integrity of heart, we must not be shy about checking our motives
[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_01]: with regularity.
[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_01]: No matter how much we love God and desire to serve Him, we must be on guard against
[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_01]: selfish ambitions that tend to creep into our hearts.
[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: We have the tendency to compare our own journey with the journey of others, and when it looks
[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_01]: like we are not getting a fair shake, we begin to plot and scheme.
[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Whenever our selfish ambitions take over, we say and do things that grieve God's heart.
[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of acting lovingly, we act selfishly.
[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Our goal subtly switches from serving God to serving ourselves.
[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And if we're not careful, our purpose in life will become to fulfill our wants,
[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_01]: regardless the cost.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_01]: This scenario arises in many different facets of life.
[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: In relationships, in work environments, in churches and families, we begin to seek
[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_01]: to satisfy ourselves rather than serve others.
[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_01]: When we suspect this attitude in our lives, we can ask ourselves some questions to
[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_01]: shed light on our hearts.
[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Are our actions vengeful?
[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Are our hearts covetous and ambitious?
[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Are we impatient with God's timing?
[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Loving others squelches such attitudes.
[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of trying to exact revenge, we begin to show mercy and love.
[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_01]: The ambitions in our hearts fade as we turn our focus back to our loving Savior,
[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_01]: remembering we were bought at a price.
[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Living with integrity means we choose to live God's way over our own.
[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_01]: We choose to live by His rules, which include putting others before ourselves.
[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's pray together.
[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Lord, help us to imitate the humility of Christ who gave his life for us.
[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Help us to take up our cross, to die to self,
[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_01]: not looking for our own interest but to the interest of others.
[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_01]: We pray this in the name of Jesus.
[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Amen.
[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: To take a deeper dive into today's devotional topic, check the show notes for links to additional resources.
[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And while you're there, subscribe to the My Devotional podcast so you never miss an episode.
[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: My Devotional is a ministry of leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusuf.
[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: To learn more, visit ltw.org today.