Have you ever had a moment where you had some great intentions, but it just turned out to be your worst nightmare? You know, those times when you want nothing more than to be helpful or do something great? But when it comes down to it, the world might have been a little better off if you would have just sat still. Anyone else had a moment like this?
For me, it seems like I run into this issue quite a bit. I will be going throughout my day, thinking I’m being a great help to people around me, and then when I lay down at night (face palm). I realize how much I actually wasn’t helping and possibly how much harder or more awkward I made a situation. Those times just make you feel so great about yourself.
My all time “good intention” story goes all the way back to my childhood days. When my sister and I were really little, we were playing in this back room at our house. We were having a really good time playing around, and then I decided that I wanted to help make it even more awesome. I asked my sister if she wanted a haircut. But not just any regular cut. I asked if she wanted a cool short haircut just like mine. Being the brave little 18-month-old that she was, my sister said of course! So, I went and grabbed the scissors and got to cutting. Everything was going great, my client was looking good so far and then in walks my mom. She wasn’t quite as excited as I had hoped she would be. I attempted to sweeten things up by telling her “I was just trying to make her look pretty for you, Mama.” My three-year-old mind thought that was a guarantee to get Mom to smile. Unfortunately, I was greatly mistaken and ended up spending the rest of the day with my dad, as far away from the house as possible.
Even though I had good intentions, the end result just didn’t quite come out the way it should have. For all of you that suffer along with me, don’t worry, this has been an issue for many many years.
I was reading through the book of Job and realized that both Job and all of his friends had the same issue. Both sides had the best intentions and wanted everyone to know the truth. They spent a long time arguing back and forth, trying to correct the other. Job was trying to get his friends to see that he hadn’t done anything wrong, and he was trying to keep them from being liars. His friends, on the other hand, were trying to help Job stay righteous and humble. Again, both sides really did mean well with their actions. After reading through the book, I realized that neither side was really right, and neither side really made any progress. The only way the issue was resolved was because God stepped in.
What does all of this intention mean for us today, though?
I believe there is a solid life lesson to be learned from both my childhood mistake and the mistake of Job and his friends. These experiences all teach us to just stop. Sometimes it is much better to stop what we are doing and take a moment to think. It is much better to slowly come to a solution than to quickly make the problem bigger.
I want to encourage all of you today to just take a moment to slow down, think about what you are doing and make sure that your actions really are helping others around you. Who knows, your good intentions might actually come to fruition after that?
