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Sermon Illustrations: Ambition

How astonished these people will be, if they arrive in heaven, to find the angels, who are much wiser than they, laying no schemes to be made archangels!" Maxims for Meditation, as quoted in Spurgeon, Charles H. My Sermon Notes: Vol 1 p20

Jon Krakauer finally reached the summit of Mt Everest 10th May, 1996. Several of those who had climbed with him had died on the way. Later he wrote, "I understood on some dim, detached level that [it] was a spectacular sight. I'd been fantasising about this moment, and the release of emotion that would accompany it, for many months. But now that I was finally here, standing on the summit of Mt Everest, I just couldn't summon the energy to care."

When a motivational products company interviewed Tim Dumler by phone for a sales job, he told them his goal was to become their number one employee. After meeting him in person they were shocked to discover he was legally blind. But he promised he'd buy a machine that magnifies letters. So, despite serious misgivings, they hired him. And it's a good thing they did. He came in early, worked late, and within six years became their top producer. His clients loved him because when you're blind you become a great listener. And his associates loved him because of his caring, positive attitude. He said, "It's unfortunate that I'm visually impaired but adversity made me a better person. I have a lot more than I don't have." Tim has the 100-degree attitude! What's the 100-degree attitude? Motivational speaker Mack Anderson explains: At 99 degrees Celsius water is hot. At 100 degrees it boils. With boiling water comes steam. And steam can power a train. One extra degree makes all the difference in business and in life; it separates the good from the great." Word for Today 18-9-08