Friendly Ambition

Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea were celebrated leaders in the fourth-century church and also close friends. They first met as philosophy students, and Gregory later said that they became like “two bodies with a single spirit.”

With their career paths so similar, rivalry could’ve arisen between Gregory and Basil. But Gregory explained that they avoided this temptation by making a life of faith, hope, and good deeds their “single ambition,” then “spurring each other on” to make the other more successful in this goal than themselves individually. As a result, both grew in faith and rose to high levels of leadership without rivalry.

The book of Hebrews is written to help us stay strong in faith (Hebrews 2:1), encouraging us to focus on “the hope we profess” and to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (10:23-24). While this command is given in the context of a congregation (v. 25), by applying it to their friendship, Gregory and Basil showed how friends can encourage each other to grow and avoid any “bitter root,” such as rivalry that might grow between them (12:15).

What if we made faith, hope, and good deeds the ambition of our own friendships, then encouraged our friends to become more successful in this goal than ourselves individually? The Holy Spirit is ready to help us do both.