Good Intentions

[From the internet] (begin) The road to Hell is paved with good intentions is a proverb or aphorism. An alternative form is “Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works.” Another interpretation to consider would be one is naive and acts in good faith with no altruistic objective. It merely seems as the proper or even sensible thing to do. In this scenario the act, regardless of its virtue, leads the actor to unintended negative consequences. Example: “I took the initiative and replaced the toner in the copy machine, only to be lectured about its poor quality. The boss said we are stuck with using it until the end of the month. I guess the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Stephen Garrard Post, writing about altruism, suggests that good intentions are often not what they seem and that mankind normally acts from less worthy, selfish motives: “If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is partly because that is the road they generally start out on.” (end)

Many of us do things with unintended negative consequences.  This can happen when we make choices without adequately weighing the pros and cons.  We don’t intend to do harm or make a mistake, but that’s the result.  

We get careless or foolishly follow leaders seeking power and money, not the greater good.  We think our choice is sound, but the consequences are severe for us and those around us.  All hell breaks out because we chose the wrong road.  Or, as Post suggests, it’s the road on which we started.  

Deacon David Pierce