Do you strive for greatness? Do you desire to get ahead? And what does striving for greatness mean? And is it worth it to gain all the money and things that come with doing wonderful things to be the best at what you desire?
Striving for Greatness meaning
Striving Definition
We find that the dictionary meaning for striving is something that we make great efforts to achieve or obtain.
If you have a great solution to a customer’s problem, then your entrepreneurial spirit will take off and you get to work. There will be long hours to achieve this goal and hopefully, you will have a viable product for the customer to buy. And then you will have success!
With any great achievements, there will be a sacrifice to make. And hard work, hours of time, and possible lost money encountered to obtain this greatness.
The greatness factor in you says let’s get going. But the practical side may cause you to question whether it is worth the cost, check to see what the Bible says about striving, and pray whether this is what God wants you to do.
What does the Bible say about striving?
There is good and bad striving in the Bible. And since we strive for things that are temporary or can become an idol, most of the verses are not positive.
The Hebrew word for striving means longing, a feeding upon, or grasping after.
Unsatisfying Results
A person who works hard to achieve something and obtains it isn’t satisfied. Well, they may be satisfied for a brief moment. And then they want to have more things, more money, and do bigger things.
All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.
Ecclesiastes 6:7 ESV
Solomon’s perspective in this verse is of food but it applies to so many other things we desire. We are not content with what we have. And we think we need more of it.
Even Paul said that he learned to be content. Contentment isn’t automatically granted to us. It is learned even in the workplace where we are now.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, I have learned to be content no matter the circumstance.
Philippians 4:11 ESV
Solomon pondered what a man gets from all of his hard work and most of the book of Ecclesiastes is his findings to the answer to this question.
What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
Ecclesiastes 2:22 ESV
Yet when we get the additional items, we encounter challenges, frustration, and possibly even pain. This is what I found out to be true in a previous position. I worked 50-55 hours a week. The stress was affecting my health, causing me pain, and I was not content with some factors of the job.
Solomon’s Conclusion of Striving for Greatness
King Solomon said that he hated life because all the hard work that was done was “striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:17 ESV).
He had built houses, planted vineyards, gardens, and parks. And he added pools in order to water all the trees. The herds and flocks he had were so numerous no one else had ever attained that many in Jerusalem. And he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3 ESV). Can you imagine having that many wives and lovers? It was Solomon’s downfall. The foreign wives led him away from his relationship with God.
All of the work that he had done and acquired was striving after the wind. And it led him away from what was the most important, pleasing God, and loving Him.
Striving for Greatness: Should we do it?
There are times when we should strive for greatness and do it well.
In Proverbs 31, the woman is a great example where it seems like her work is never done. The woman works long hours to care for her family. She does this in order to provide for them, not to get ahead, and be the greatest mom or wife ever.
Every mom should care for her family well and do it to the glory of God. Yes, it is nice to hear from your child, “You are the greatest Mom ever!” You are the only Mom they have and if in their eyes you have done a great job, then you know you have done well.
However, the part that matters the most is that you are humbly doing the work to honor God. And that He is pleased with it.
Striving for Greatness: When we should step back & refocus?
Jesus taught that we should not store up treasures on earth. These are of temporary value. Have you heard the idea that you cannot hitch a trailer behind the hearse? When you die, none of these things go with you. It is only your soul.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where theives break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19 ESV
And these worldly goods of money and things can easily be lost or stolen from us while we are on this earth. A thief could break into our house. We could waste our money on gathering up a beautiful house, extravagant clothes, and a fancy car. Or inflation could come and we’d lose our hard-earned money on the falling stock market.
When selfish ambition has taken over and we are tuned into worldly goods, then we need to take a closer look at what is the most important in life and make some changes.
What should we strive for instead?
Jesus wants us to store up treasure in heaven. This treasure is eternal – it is not something that can be taken away from you.
But what does that mean? Treasure in heaven means that you will do righteous works here on earth. And whatever you do for the Kingdom of God while you are here on earth will have everlasting value. You may have some enjoyment from these heavenly treasures while you give of them on earth. But the most value will come later in heaven. The heart that you touched with God’s Word now on earth is of much greater worth when that person is in heaven.
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20-21 ESV
What we value the most, our treasure is where we will spend the most time. And we can only focus on one or the other.
Striving for Greatness: Do it for God
Striving in Greek is more positive. “Spoudazo” means to exert one’s self, endeavor, give diligence.
Paul wrote to the Philippians and hoped that he would see or hear that they were
“standing firm in one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”
Philippians 1:27 ESV
He wanted them to be striving for greatness in how they were serving others and how they were sharing the gospel.
In writing to the Colossians, Paul told them to focus on doing the work they do for God and not for the applause that they’d get from others.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
Colossians 3:23 ESV
We should be doing this to serve the Lord Christ and bring Him glory. That is where we will get our reward (Colossians 3:24 ESV).
Summary of Striving
When our ambition is selfish, our striving for greatness is going to be focused on the treasures of this world. We will not be contented in our work or “what we do.” We will only want more of these treasures, even though they do not satisfy us. If we can refocus our striving to treasures in heaven, then we can enjoy some of those treasures now but have a greater reward in heaven later.
In the meantime, when we want to strive for greatness, it needs to focus on serving God and what can be done to further His Kingdom. When new opportunities come our way, we need to pray about them and determine if this is where God wants us to be.
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Thank you for this .It was really helpful.
You are so welcome!