John Adams once wrote of his wish that American youth would have an ambition for great accomplishment. "I would to God there were more ambition in the country", said Adams to a young Ralph Waldo Emerson, "ambition of that laudable kind to excel". There is no lack of ambition in today's political realm but how much of it can be called "excellent" is debatable. With the 2012 American presidential race starting it is good to take note of the cost of ambition on the lives of those who seek high office.

This week a potential GOP contender Haley Barbour decided he would not seek the presidency. The reason given was his wife does not have the desire to put herself and family through the grind of campaigning and should he win the number of productive years lost to the office. In a recent interview she revealed the true cost. “It horrifies me,” she said of a presidential campaign and the “huge sacrifice” it would mean for her family. “You would commit to 10 years, which would be two years of campaigning, then you run to win, so it would be four years. Then you would want to run again—so it’s 10 years, and it’s the last part of our productive lives.”

It takes a large "fire in the belly" to campaign for president. In today's media circus nothing remains private and every aspect of one's life, present and past, is open for evaluation. While some lives will not stand the harsh scrutiny of public examination it leaves you wondering if the goal is worth the cost. Ambition is a good thing if the motivation is sincere and noble. That is a rare commodity among many seeking public service today.

Ambition drives a person to reach for the brass ring of high office or position. If ambition is not motivated by an attitude of service the result will not always be noble. Christ said to his disciples, "whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave" (Matthew 20:26-27). Only when this is the motivating factor can aspirants to high office expect to use ambition for a good end.

Ambition can be a good thing. But service is greater. We would all be better off by checking our ambition against the high standard of selfless service. Doing this helps understand whether paying the cost of such commitment is worth it. It may be. But motive and intent is critical.