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The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse
Hardcover
Series: Theology for the Life of the World
Religion General Christian LivingGeneral Christianity
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ISBN10: 1587434814
ISBN13: 9781587434815
Publisher: Brazos Press
Published: May 20 2025
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.60 Depth: 8.10
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781587434815
Publisher: Brazos Press
Published: May 20 2025
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.75
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.60 Depth: 8.10
Language: English
Many people believe that ambition--striving to be better than others--improves us and advances society. But what if it actually makes us worse?
The Cost of Ambition, now in paperback, argues that striving for superiority has negative consequences in all domains of life. World-renowned theologian and award-winning author Miroslav Volf explores
- how we can achieve excellence rather than strive for superiority;
- what S ren Kierkegaard, John Milton, and the apostle Paul say about the cost of ambition;
- how to stop being plagued by our own sense of inferiority to others; and
- why Christians must retrieve a humbler way of life.
Volf also examines what the teachings of Jesus and the stories in Genesis say on the matter. Volf explains how striving to be better than others devalues our achievements, surroundings, and relationships by turning them into mere means to an empty goal. This pursuit, though widely accepted in modern life, is at odds with key Christian convictions. After exposing the toxicity of ambition, Volf uses contemporary examples to guide us toward striving for excellence.
Offers a profound critique of competitive striving through a rich theological and philosophical lens.--Christianity Today
The Cost of Ambition, now in paperback, argues that striving for superiority has negative consequences in all domains of life. World-renowned theologian and award-winning author Miroslav Volf explores
- how we can achieve excellence rather than strive for superiority;
- what S ren Kierkegaard, John Milton, and the apostle Paul say about the cost of ambition;
- how to stop being plagued by our own sense of inferiority to others; and
- why Christians must retrieve a humbler way of life.
Volf also examines what the teachings of Jesus and the stories in Genesis say on the matter. Volf explains how striving to be better than others devalues our achievements, surroundings, and relationships by turning them into mere means to an empty goal. This pursuit, though widely accepted in modern life, is at odds with key Christian convictions. After exposing the toxicity of ambition, Volf uses contemporary examples to guide us toward striving for excellence.
Offers a profound critique of competitive striving through a rich theological and philosophical lens.--Christianity Today
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