Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:22-23 NASB)

The real danger in our situation lies in the fact that so many people see clearly what they are revolting from and so few see at all what they are revolting to. (Harry Emerson Fosdick, Leadership Magazine, Vol. 6, no. 3.)

    Truer words are hard to find. Few pay attention to what they are “revolting to.” All they care about is getting away from whatever it is they want to escape. It’s like the fellow who ran off a cliff trying to get away from a bee. That, of course, was an accident. He didn’t mean to run off the cliff. He certainly didn’t mean to break his leg. Well, of course not! Who thinks he meant to do such a thing? His intention is not the issue. Or is it?

    There is the point. Exactly what is it that people intend to do? Evidently, a lot of them don’t know. They really don’t have any intention, except to get away from the thing they want to get away from. They do not necessarily intend to “get to” anything in particular. Remember the classic line from the movies? I’ll paraphrase it for you. A woman walks up to a ticket window. “Give me a ticket,” she says. “Where to, Lady?” asks the clerk. “Anywhere,” she replies.

    Now, do you really think she intends to get to somewhere particular or just get away from somewhere particular? There is a vast difference between the two.

Where are you going?

    Here’s where it gets personal. Where are you going? Oh, I don’t necessarily mean to ask where you’re going on a trip, though that might be interesting. I’m talking about your life. Where are you going? Do you know where you’re headed? Is it where you want to go? Are you reacting more than acting? Are you rebelling to get away from something? OK, but do you have any idea what you’re rebelling to? You will end up somewhere, doing something. Will it be what you meant for it to be or are you just rolling the dice to see what comes up?

    You need to know that God has a better idea of life for you, but it’s generally not found by accident. It’s not that God can’t make something good out of a mess, but you have to admit that God doesn’t always do that for people. In fact, it’s more likely that a prize found in the middle of a mess is rare. Don’t count on being the exception. You’ll be much wiser if you take a good long look at where you’re going before you get there. Be sure that where you end up is where you really want to be.

    “I didn’t intend for this to happen!” will be a sad epitaph.

    So before you to get to where you don’t want to go, ask yourself this simple question: “What do I intend?”

 

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Title: "Intentions"
Author: Dr. Bill Denton
Publication Date: June 6, 2003