Can I be an Ambitious Woman in a Biblical Marriage?

"An excellent wife who can find?" (Proverbs 31:10).

In today's feminist society, we would say, "An excellent woman who can find?" not an excellent wife. We have blotted out the reality that wives can be excellent. Instead, we believe that womanhood is where excellence lies, and becoming a wife is like slavery in the 1800s.

But what if we're wrong? What if we could gain greater influence in our marriage than we ever could by pursuing a career alone?

As an ambitious woman, I wrestle with the thoughts:

"Can I have a career AND be a mom?"

"Can I pursue godly goals AND sacrifice for my family?"

"Can I be great and serve simultaneously?"

In a world where independence is praised, we have settled for the idea that greatness can only be achieved beyond the family. That true success is found not in the four walls of our home but in the tasks we accomplish daily.

It is insulting to the Proverbs 31 woman and to biblical marriage.

In God's eyes, success is not about what we do, but who we glorify in our doing.

The battle we are wrestling with is Godly Ambition vs Selfish Ambition, not Idleness vs Working. "Self ambition," as James says, is not wisdom from above. Asking the question, "Can I be an ambitious woman and still hold to the values of biblical marriage?" is not the question. Of course, we can be ambitious and still have a family.

Ambition, as seen in Proverbs 31, is not what drives us away from God's will. It is the unsacrificial selfishness that drives us away from Biblical values.

The question isn't "Can I do this AND have a family?" but "How can what I do bring God glory, honor my husband, and show my children how to serve God wholeheartedly with my gifts?"

As we see in the Proverbs 31 woman, she is very ambitious: "She SEEKS wool and flax, and WORKS with willing hands... She RISES while it is yet night and PROVIDES food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she PLANTS a vineyard..."

Without ambition, we wouldn't get anything done.

We need ambitious women. Women who serve God with passion and drive for real change. Women who see a need and take initiative to meet it.

This is how we spread the gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus. It isn't by sitting in our homes and doing nothing. It's by using our ambition to glorify God in everything we do.