Good Intentions

While we recognize that GOOD INTENTIONS are better than BAD INTENTIONS, we must also recognize that GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH!

Illus: Alexander de Seversky, U.S. aviator and engineer, was once visiting a fellow flyer in the hospital. The young man had just lost his leg. De Seversky, who had had an artificial leg for some time, tried to cheer him up. "The loss of a leg is not so great a calamity," he said. "If you get hit on a wooden leg, it doesn't hurt a bit! Try it!" The patient raised his walking stick and brought it down hard on de Seversky's leg. "You see," he said cheerfully. "If you hit an ordinary man like that, he'd be in bed for five days!" With that he left his friend and limped into the corridor, where he collapsed in excruciating pain. It seems the young man had struck de Seversky on his good leg! He had good intentions but many times that is not enough.

Illus: Someone said, “The attitude of the world is that, if our intentions are good…then our actions - no matter how awful are justified.”

That is not true! The end never justifies the means.

• Right is always right, even if everyone is against it

• Wrong is always wrong, even if everyone is for it

Why is it that GOOD INTENTIONS can be BAD? Because GOOD INTENTIONS MAY BECOME:

I. A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION

In James 4:13-17, we read, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. THEREFORE TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD, AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN.”

Just because a person has good intentions to do something does not mean they are going to act on those good intentions!

Illus: In the 18th Century, James Boswell said it this way, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

Illus: If we could talk to people in Hell today, the majority would tell you THEY HAD THE BEST INTENTIONS OF GIVING THEIR HEART TO THE LORD, BUT THEY NEVER GOT AROUND TO DOING IT!

They sat in church like many here today, as the Holy Spirit spoke to their heart about salvation and they had the best of intentions to one day walk down the aisle and give their heart to the Lord. They just never got around to doing it.

GOOD INTENTIONS CAN BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION!

Illus: I heard the story about the preacher who preached about overcoming sin every week, and a fellow in his congregation would always say to him, “I aim to start doing that.”

• Week after week he would tell the preacher that he aimed to start doing what the Bible said he should be doing!

• Finally, he came to the preacher after he heard another sermon and said, “Preacher, I aim to start doing that also!”

• The preacher who had gotten tired of his GOOD INTENTIONS said, “Listen, you come to me every Sunday at the end of my sermon and tell me you AIM TO START DOING WHAT GOD’S WORD TEACHES! FOR GOODNESS SAKES MAN---COCK THE GUN AND SHOOT!”

Our churches are filled with people who have good intentions, but good intentions are worthless until we act on them.

Listen, some people:

• Could have been WEALTHY today. They always had good intentions of managing their money properly but they never got around to doing it

• Could have been HEALTHY today. They had the best intentions of eating right and exercising to have good health, but they never got around to doing it

• Could have been GREAT CHRISTIANS today. They intended to dedicate their lives to the Lord, but they never got around to doing it

They substituted their GOOD INTENTIONS FOR ACTIONS!

The pundits tell us that there are three kinds of people:

• Those who make things happen

• Those who watch things happen

• Those who wonder what happened

Those who MAKE THINGS HAPPEN are people who refuse to allow GOOD INTENTIONS TO BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTIONS!

Illus: That reminds me of cowboy Joe who was telling his friend Charlie about his first visit to a big city church. Charlie said, “How did you like it?” Cowboy Joe said, “It is my intention to never go to that church again.”