Good Intentions Are Worse Than No Intentions

David, an acquaintance of Rick, my brother-in-law, asked him if he’d help bring some Alpacas back from Wisconsin. Rick said, “Sure, I’ll help.” David said, “We need to be on the road at 4 AM to give us enough time to get there, load the Alpacas, and get back the same day.” Rick said, ‘ok.'” And that’s what Rick did. David picked him up at 4 AM, and they got back late that night. That’s called putting your words into action and doing what you say you’ll do.

Which would you say is better, for a child who says they won’t do something, and then they do it, or a child who says they will do something and then they don’t? (Mt. 21:28-32, paraphrase) I never actually had the chance to try this out as a child; saying “no” to either parent was not an option. I guess I could have tried it as they would still have had my sister. 😉 😉

There’s a fantastic event recorded in Matthew 21:19 (AMP) that applies to the point I’m attempting to make. Here’s the passage:

“And as He saw one single leafy fig tree above the roadside, He went to it but He found nothing but leaves on it [seeing that in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. And He said to it, ‘Never again shall fruit grow on you!’ And the fig tree withered up at once.“

I wonder how many days I’ve walked through without remembering that being a Christian is more than a demographic category. It’s fearful to appear to belong to Christ and have no fruit to show upon His inspection. Good intentions are like the fruitless fig tree; they lie to all who see them.

Within all the noise of the world around me, Father I pray for Your help to keep my heart set on you and to do the right things that produce fruit for our kingdom. I say “ours” because, amazingly, through Christ’s sacrifice I’ve been made a joint heir with Jesus (Rom 8:17) and in His Name I pray. Amen.

Photo by Foad Memariaan on Unsplash