“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” can be traced back to a 1640 theological book by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who originally wrote the saying hundreds of years prior (he lived in the early 11th century). His phrasing – since paving didn’t exist until much later – was, “Hell is full of good meanings and wishes.” I have always thought of this as one of those “tongue in cheek” things; meaning, sometimes, that we need to be more accurate about our gifts and graces. Like helping a friend fix a car when you have no skills in that area. The best of intentions can go very, very wrong. I pay people to do electrical work and plumbing in my house because electricity will kill me and water will kill my house. Best to stay in my lane.
Too often, our best intentions can lead to unintended consequences. Like when Pres. Nixon opened the door to trade relations with China; it seemed like a great idea at the time, but there have been some very negative aspects to it. Often, we think we are doing the right thing – and we might be – but it turns out to have ripple effects that cause harm. And while none of us can foresee every problem and benefit that might come from decisions we make, it seems to me that more time should be taken to discern who and what will be touched by the way we live our lives. If I make this decision, will anyone be hurt by it? Will that hurt be destructive or just an annoyance? And – this is the most problematic for me – is the injury I cause others worth it?
I have seen a lot of good people take the road to hell without even realizing they were doing it. Every decision we make has consequences – every choice makes a difference. If a corporation does something wrong, like the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 – which led millions of people to boycott that company for years – and we choose to join that boycott, we are also hurting real people employed by them whose lives depend on those jobs. Or when we build public housing for low-income people; those communities provide economic aid, but they also often turn into traps that contribute to the cycle of generational poverty. It is too easy to make decisions based on our own wants and needs and then rationalize the good it will do for others. None of this is easy, but it might be better for all of us if we stopped and thought more about the ramifications of our decisions, both personal and corporate. We might end up doing more good than harm that way.
Prayer – Dear God, life is complicated, and while we can never make ever decision completely right, we can take time to try. Help us in that trying. Amen.
Today’s art is “Democracy and Human Rights” by Thales Molina.