Greetings Dear Reader,
A friend of mine posted something profound on her Face Book page. She was quoting a friend of hers and so the posting here is another ripple in the pool of wisdom from someone I do not know. Her post asked this question: “Why do we judge others on their actions and ourselves only on our intentions?” This question pierces deeply into the years of my life I am currently assessing.
It is so easy to see what I have intended at times and dismiss what I have caused. My eldest son pointed this out to me some time ago and I have been pondering it much of late. I have seen in myself and others how easily we dismiss what we have caused because we intended differently. I know that this behavior in me was learned from others but that does not change that I must monitor how I impact others with what I do no matter what I intend.
Means and methods must align with who Christ is and how he would do things if I am to hope for a Christ centered outcome. I must examine what I want in every situation to assure that it is in alignment with who Christ is. Too often I think I know best when I have not observed what Christ is already doing or considered that my way may not be Christ’s way of handling a situation. I must step back more often.
If my life is not aligned with Christ in any area, my intentions do not matter. My only true intent must be to follow Christ is all that I do. If all my actions and intentions spring from this then I am much less likely to cause harm by putting my intentions into wrong or hurtful actions. When Christ meets me at the end of the path, what will it be worth if all I have to offer is a bag of failed intentions surrounded by wrong actions?
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."
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I wonder if we judge others by their actions because we can't really know their true intentions. We can guess at other's intentions based on the pattern of their actions and level of trust within that relationship. We judge ourselves by our intentions because we can know what they are, depending on how honest we are with ourselves.
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