You Should Strive for Greatness

But greatness is not what you've been told.

Your Drive Could Be Your Downfall

Not every man has fire in his soul. Even less so in our day. Most men have become sterile, scared, and powerless, through no fault of their own, but mainly because there’s dark forces at work who want that to be the case. Regardless of whose fault it is, the fact remains that most men today stand back from their life and never live it. Consumed by the fear of making the wrong decision, they make none. These men face a plethora of challenges, the main one being the need to rekindle that fire to push forward and make something useful of their lives.

Those who still retain some of their God-given fire face a different set of challenges. They have boundless energy and a drive to do something, but often struggle to know what exactly they should do. Sadly, what usually ends up happening is that these men focus all their energy towards pursuing a materialistic, selfish kind of greatness. I think, again, this isn’t always through any fault of their own, but simply because we’ve built a society in which for most, the only worthy pursuit is that of wealth, status, and power for selfish, egotistical reasons. This is what’s described as “greatness”, and these men with fiery hearts, who desperately need some long-term goal to pursue, end up walking all kinds of wrong paths.

For these men, their drive can often be their downfall. But being driven and ambitious isn’t the problem, the problem is not using that fire properly and pursuing selfish goals and the ego-stroking accumulation of wealth and status.

This is a great misconception in Christian circles nowadays. We’ve been told that a Christian man should be soft, lukewarm, and unambitious. We are told that Christian men cannot aspire to something higher, and that the fire in our souls is not God-given but an unnatural energy that needs to be put out. My first book, Christian Vitality, is a call to action for all those Christian men who feel called to something more, to encourage them not to kill that drive but to order it towards virtue and greatness.

Direct Your Fire Towards Virtue

As I said, the goal is not to eliminate your masculine drive but to order it towards the kind of “greatness” that is virtuous.

You can use that energy that calls you to move, to push forward, to overcome struggle productively, to advance God’s Kingdom on earth. You can use it to lead others out of the darkness and towards the light of Christ.

Those consumed by the world will use that desire for greatness to climb the ladder of materialism, seeking to stroke their own pride, idolizing themselves and damning their souls in the process.

As men of faith, we can instead fuel that desire for greatness to pursue the ultimate victory: attaining sanctity and the bliss of Heaven. We’re not only allowed to purse this kind of virtuous greatness, but fundamentally called to do it.

Fr. David speaks the truth: what we are missing the most, as a generation, is a desire for greatness. Especially for the right kind of greatness.

“A life in which in a 1000 years, what you did still matters. That you lived by something that was actually a lot bigger than yourself.”

THAT’S greatness.

Contrary to what some might believe, seeking greatness is not an inmoral pursuit, nor is it opposed to humility or any other Christian virtues.

In fact, this desire for greatness is perfectly aligned with our faith, so much so that there’s an actual virtue that describes, precisely, striving towards the highest peaks.