Intentions“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (NKJV)
“Next Saturday I’m going to take everything out of my closet and clean it all out and organize it,” Lee Anne told her sister as they watched TV one evening. “I’m going to put everything into plastic boxes and label them, and hang all my blouses together, all the dresses together and all that, and it will be the best closet in the whole house.”
“Sure,” replied Rebecca, but she doubted her sister would really do it.
Saturday morning, Rebecca got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and started her Saturday chore list. Dad was mowing the yard and mom had to go buy groceries. Lee Anne was still asleep. Rebecca could not understand how her sister could keep sleeping while dad ran the mower just outside her window, but Lee Anne didn’t budge.
Rebecca finished her chores and since mom wasn’t back from the grocery store yet, Rebecca decided to tidy up the kitchen for her mom. She knew she’d be bringing back lots of bags of groceries and she’d need space to set them down. So Rebecca cleared off the countertops and wiped them off, put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned out the sink and took the garbage out.
Just then dad came into the kitchen with grocery bags in both arms and set them on the clean counter. Mom followed him with another bag. “The kitchen looks wonderful,” mom said. Rebecca smiled and told mom what she had done. “You are so thoughtful.” Mom gave her a big hug and thanked her. “Where’s your sister?” mom asked.
“Still sleeping, I guess.” By the time Lee Anne finally got up and got dressed, it was nearly lunch time. After lunch she started her chore list and she never got around to cleaning her closet.
This story reminds me of a poster I saw and I’ve never forgotten what it said: “The smallest good deed is better than the greatest grand intention.”
You can have the best of intentions to do great things but until you do them, they remain only intentions. There is nothing wrong with good intentions, but you must take the next step and put action to them so you accomplish them. Too many people have all kinds of intentions, but that’s all they are – intentions. They never do them.
What if your mother has the best of intentions to make a special dinner tonight with all your favorite foods, but at dinner time nothing is cooked? “I intended to make that special dinner,” she could tell you, but that wouldn’t put dinner on the table, would it?
Don’t live in the “land of intentions”. Make plans, but then be sure to carry them out so that your intentions become actions and you actually accomplish what you planned to do.
Our Bible verse from James 1:22 tells us to be “doers of the word”. Don’t just read the Bible, do what it says. Be kind, loving, patient and tell others about Jesus. Don’t just intend to do them when you’re grown. Start now.
Remember that it’s better to do a small good deed – and do something - than just have grand intentions but never do anything.
Copyright, 2007, Laurie Latour.
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