I am sure you have heard the old saying, “Good intentions pave the road to Hell!”
Mistake 1: Having any desire other than to , “In all my ways seek to know Jesus more.” Proverbs 3:6 Many will say in the judgment, “Lord, lord, did we not do wonderful things in your name?” He will reply, “Depart from me, I do not know you”
Mistake 2: Deciding for myself what is right and doing it with all my strength/rather than asking him what he wants and for the strength to do it. In his zeal for God, Saul of Tarsus imprisoned and murdered Christians because of his good intentions of serving God and preserving the Jewish faith. Philippians 3:6
Mistake 3: Since without him I can do nothing/ waiting for him to do it all, rather than stepping out by faith and doing the little that I can. (I will never do anything well enough to be worth doing apart from God, but with him, even my feeble efforts are worth doing). Like the sloth who wants good things but is not willing to work for them so winds up with nothing. Proverbs 13:4
Mistake 4: Failure to prepare, This can come only by prayer and fasting” Mark 9:29
Mistake 5: Committing for the moment and not for the long run. Galatians 1:6 “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you by his grace.”
Mistake 6: Expecting comfort and success because my goals are good and then quitting when I run into pain and apparent failure. Matthew 13:21 Having no deep root in himself he lasts for a while but when trials and persecution arise he is offended.
Mistake 7: (This is a favorite of government officials) Thinking that, since my intentions are good, then anything I come up with must be helpful. (Even though the technique actually makes the problem worse). Like the high priest who congratulated himself on saving the people by killing Jesus. (Paradoxically, he was right in his wrongness) John 11:50
Mistake 8: (This lie is deep in the American Church because of our “I can do it myself without help from my brethren”, pioneer attitude.)Thinking that I do not need help, accountability, prayers and support of other Christians.
Mistake 9: Thinking that I can do good for others without first having the log taken out of my own eye. Matthew 7:2
This is, obviously a partial list but it makes the point that I need to go far beyond asking whether I want good things, if I want my life to count for Christ and his kingdom.
“Lord help me to seek only to know you, draw closer to you, and become more like you/to seek to bless those around me/ to seek your will and your glory and to see myself as a success for having obeyed, regardless of the immediate outcome.
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