Then he who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.” But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:24-30)

Good Intentions

James Albery (1838-1889) was an English playwright during the Victorian period. Albery wrote this epitaph for himself: “He slept beneath the moon, He basked beneath the sun; He lived a life of going-to-do, And died with nothing done.” An old saying sums up the same spirit: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Having the intention to do something does not produce the desired result. The greatest tragedy of life is when a man intends to change, plans to make changes, hopes to find ways to change, and never does. All the intentions in the world cannot have any value if they are never acted upon, and yet this is one of the greatest challenges men face.

Intentions are good if they produce action. A farmer plans to clear a piece of land, cultivate and plant the seed, and care for the crop until harvest, but if the land is never cleared and cultivated, there will be no harvest. A man will reap what he sows unless his only thoughts are about sowing and he never takes action. Good intentions never cleared a piece of land and planted seed. It requires the doing of industry to move beyond the intended desire.

Many people have great intentions to serve God, but never do anything about it. They work seven days a week to build their bank accounts, surround themselves with like-minded friends, and spend their lives seeking the finer things in life. As Albery wrote, they live life to its fullest with the intention of answering a higher call but die with nothing done. It is then that the greatest tragedy comes. Jesus told the story of a man given one talent by his lord, with the expectation that he would do more. The man was afraid, and while he had great intentions, he did nothing. Jesus shows the failure of those who intend but never act when the servant is cast into outer darkness.

Salvation is not something gained by having good intentions. Faith comes from the word of God, which requires action. The people at Pentecost asked, “What must we do?” They understood that intention was not enough. Many people want to serve Jesus but never change their lives. All the good intentions are for naught. Change takes action. James wrote that faith without works is dead. The day of salvation is now – not later. Procrastination has killed many a purpose in life. It is a fearful thing to end life with nothing done concerning eternity.

Do you have good intentions? Until a change takes place, there can be no hope. The Bible has the answer. Let’s learn together how to put those intentions into action. Your eternal destiny depends on knowing the truth. Jesus died not for good intentions but for those convicted of their sin to act. What is your epitaph?