Good Intentions

Have you ever been in someone’s car, and you see these plastic bags from the grocery store that are stretched between two seats, and they are half filled with trash?  Or you see boxes filled with books and other stuff.  The problem is that the same box and plastic bag has been there for months and every time you try to move it or offer to help carry the box to the destination, the person says, “Oh, that is there because I need it for this or that.”  In your mind you are thinking, the opportunity to take care of these items happen every day but you are not doing anything to move in the right direction to take care of this issue.  Or how about when you enter their home, you see piles of things scattered throughout the house.  The homeowner calls the scattered piles “projects”, but what you just see are piles of stuff.  How about when you interact with others.  Your friends make promises or commitments, but most of the time they never follow through because hey it’s ok, we’re friends.  Sometimes they will say, “I’ll call you in 15 minutes”, but that 15 minutes turns into 3 hours or no returned phone call.  My all-time favorite is when say you will be there at 1p.m., but they finally call at 2p.m. saying they are running late.  Yeah, yeah, I know they are your friends and you’ve known them for years.

Many of us want to say something so that we don’t hurt the other person’s feelings.  For years we have always used the words, “I’ll try to be there.” Or “If the Lord is willing.” Hmmm, so if you don’t show up, is that the Lord’s fault?  What if He wanted you to go?  The truth is that although He may want you to go, He will never override “your” decision because He gives you free will.  The God and creator of this universe, who has the answers to everything will allow you to make your own decisions, but you are responsible for your own mistakes.  Isn’t it interesting if you hear that your favorite group or band is having a concert in your town next month, not only will you have purchased the tickets online, but you will cancel everything to make sure you are there.  You may even be in line early so that you don’t have to wait in a very long line.

Maybe you are thinking, “Sometimes you don’t understand that I’m just physically and mentally tired. I’ve worked all day.  Dealt with the kids, spouse, tried to clean the house, and by the time I get to myself, there is nothing left in me.  I see what needs to be done, but there is no gas in the tank to get it done.” In lieu of doing it now, you line up things to plan for what needs to be done.  There is nothing wrong with planning.  There is nothing wrong with setting aside things that you plan to tackle the next day.  In fact, which is very wise.  I’m talking about the folks who intend to do things but never do.

Good intentions are a camouflage and disguise for procrastination, laziness, and bad behavior.

Now for the deep stuff.  How many times have we told God we will go to church or made promises to Him only to later not follow through with what you said?  Even if you did say you would go to church, you show up late, leave early before service is over, forget to give offerings in church, and purposely dodge the folks you see because the previous week you said yes to volunteering in a church activity.  The enemy’s number one goal is to distract you from your purpose.  To make you non-productive and ineffective in the body of Christ.  If he can flood your mind with multiple tasks to overwhelm your mind, Satan and his demons will do it.  You are thinking these are good things to do, but they could be disguised as a distraction.  Which is why it is vitally important to stay connected to God in finding out what you “should” do.  There are plenty of things that are laid in front of you daily.  Do you ask God which ones you should work?  Do you ask God for help in doing them? Overachievers love to get things done.  But that is treading on the territory of pride.  You hear them say, “I did this, and I did that…” But it should be, “God helped me to do this, and God gave me wisdom to do that and not to do that.”

There is another category of folks who just put things off because that is just what they do. They will say, “I am not going to worry about it, and I’ll deal with it later.” The problem with that is they put everything in that category and become irresponsible and lazy. There is a difference in going to God, asking Him for guidance, placing your worries on Him, and just doing nothing. Jesus told a powerful parable about the Talents. A master gave a different amount of talent (money) to three of his servants. Two of the servants doubled the money for their master. But the third servant did nothing. He gave the excuse of not losing the money that his master gave him. The master was angry and called the third servant lazy. God gives everyone a gift and He wants you to do something with the gift that He has given to you. He does not want you to sit there and do nothing.

So where am I going with this? God commanded us to be doers of His Word, not just hearers only.

James 1:22-24 (NLT) “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.”

If you are saying things to others with good intentions, you are fooling yourself! Jesus teaches an important lesson about making vows and empty promises.

Matthew 5:33-37 (MSG) “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

Let me repeat that: Let your yes be yes and your no be no. I would rather a person tell me “No, I can’t do it, or I can’t make it” instead of saying yes and NOT doing it.  God knows your thoughts and the intent of your heart.  There is nothing hidden from Him.  Did you know that God will help you to do the right things if you ask Him?  We are so used to doing things on our own.  When we fail, the enemy wants us to give up.  If we want to do the right thing but need help in doing it, ask God for help.  He promises to help you.

Isaiah 41:10 (TLB) “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Let me bring some things into perspective.  I started this blog while talking about stuff in the car and things around the house.  I am NOT saying that it is a sin if you happen to have these items around.  I’m trying to address human behavior about your relationship with God and your relationship to others.  The things that you see are just the symptom of something that is underneath.

Here are some things to consider about Good Intentions:

1. Good intentions can lead to bad decisions. You may run off and do something on your own only to find out it was not the right decision. Luke 14:28-30 (NLT) “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’”
2. God doesn’t think like us. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” When we look at circumstances or our life, we make decisions based on what we know. How about considering God who knows you better than anyone.  Your good intentions could lead you down the wrong path.
3. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it’s a road to death. Everyone will stand before Jesus Christ and must give an account for the things that was done on this earth. If you are standing at the Great White Throne of Judgement, there is no hope.  Everyone will say they were a good person, they intended to do this or that.  But it won’t matter because it is too late.
4. Ask God for guidance and help to do His Will, not your good intentions.

Good intentions are not good. Getting things done is better. You are responsible for changing your mind and changing your behavior.  But you are not alone.  God gives you the ability to change if you ask Him.  Are you willing?

Ron Cobbs Ministries © Copyright January 14th, 2024, All Rights Reserved