Who was it that said “the path to hell is paved with good intentions”? Have you ever stopped to consider what this phrase means or if it’s true? Does it imply that all good intentions will lead us down the path to hell? Far from it. After some consideration, I believe it would be more direct to say “good intentions alone will not get you to Heaven”.

Unlike what society would have us believe, good intentions won’t cut it. We live in a world that openly advocates the “you do you” mindset, as if everyone can live life their own way and earn the same salvation. This is a lie society wants us to buy into and unfortunately, it is oh so easy to do so. I think scripture supports the idea that God expects us to have more than good intentions. 

This may seem a little harsh, especially since a large part of Christianity is founded on God’s grace because we are imperfect humans living in a fallen world. But this isn’t a question of perfection. This is a matter of believing that what God says, goes. While He is the God of grace and mercy, He has given us instructions to follow – His way, not ours. 

Let’s consider the death of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6: 1- 7. 

1 “David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.” 

What a profound lesson to be learned in seven short verses. First, let’s acknowledge the instructions God gave for transporting the Ark of the Covenant (found in Exodus 25). The Ark was to have two rings on each side for poles of acadia wood to be placed through, so men – specifically Levites – could carry the Ark on their shoulders without touching it. At this point in time, King David had just come into power following King Saul, who eventually led the Israelites away from God, where the Ark became irrelevant. David was in pursuit to restore the Israelites to God’s favor and so sought to retrieve the Ark – not just good intentions, but great intentions by David. However, David’s men placed the Ark on a “new cart” (v.3), such as the Philistines did when they transported it in 1 Samuel 6. Was this method of transportation inherently evil? No. It might have even been more efficient. But God gave specific directions and He meant them to be obeyed. 

Next we see the cart stumbled and Uzzah, bless his heart, wanted to keep the Ark from falling. So with the best intentions, reached out to steady it and God struck him dead. A guy couldn’t have had any greater intentions, but God instructed the people not to touch the Ark lest they die (Numbers 4:15). And that’s what He meant. 

Consider Saul in the New Testament. He was a devout Jew, who passionately acted on his faith. He was well versed in the Old Law, especially having studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). From his limited perspective, Christianity was offensive, sinful, and in violation of the Old Law. His acts before his repentance were genuine attempts to please God by relieving the earth of Christians because they were going against everything he knew to be true under the Old Testament. As we are told in scripture, Saul literally has a “come to Jesus” meeting, which occurs in Acts 9 and is recounted in Acts 22 and 26. 

Acts 22: 2-8, “Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.” 

Imagine Saul’s thoughts at this point. He had to have begun questioning everything he thought he knew. He was called out by the Savior, the one who died for him. His faithfulness called into question even though he had demonstrated commitment and gone to great lengths to practice what he preached. I would claim that Saul had good intentions, but the fact is, he was wrong and had to be corrected. 

The point is we are to be lifelong students of the Bible. We are responsible for our beliefs, which ought to be rooted in scripture. As someone who was raised in the church, I have been taught scripture by other christians since childhood. But there came a time when I had to own up to my faith – as comes a time for every soul. It is not something we can solely rely on teachers for, or friends, or parents. And especially not society. Truth comes from scripture alone and that is where we must search for it! We have to know what we believe, why we believe it, and continuously be seeking to learn more. I think Saul’s story here demonstrates this. He knew what he believed and why, but was he seeking to learn and understand more? 

Good intentions won’t cut it. We have to live our lives to align with God’s Word. We cannot do that if we don’t know His Word for ourselves. Society provides us a false sense of security by its “you do you” tagline, as if there isn’t right and wrong. As Christians who know the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, we know right and wrong do exist. Therefore, we must always study, seeking to learn more. Where do we start? Might I suggest at the beginning of your faith. 1 Peter 3:15, says“..always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..”. Is your faith your own? Where does it lie? God expects more than good intentions from us – He expects obedience to His Word, which is why we must know it!

 

About the author: Sarah Eddleman is a member of the Germantown congregation outside of Memphis, Tennessee. She is a Freed-Hardeman University alum, working as an associate auditor in pursuit of her CPA license. Sarah has always been involved within her church family, through teaching classes, helping with VBS, and her favorite annual event- church camp! She loves to travel and has already visited 18 other countries!