I had a lovely chat with my sister-in-law yesterday about life lessons we have been learning, and it reminded me of a sermon I heard by Andy Stanley, the pastor of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta.  The thrust of the message was this:

Direction, not intention, determines your destination.

If I were to head North from Toronto, I will not end up in Florida, no matter what my intention is.  This is very obvious, but for some reason the principle is more difficult to apply to our lives.  Many people think they are good people based on their intentions, but the direction they are headed reveals reality to be very different.  Here are some questions:

Is your intention to get/stay out of debt?  In practice, do you spend more money than you make?

Is your intention to save sex for marriage? In practice, do you push the line and do everything but?

Is your intention to get into university? In practice, do you skip class and miss assignments?

Is your intention to find a good husband?  In practice, do you jump from guy to guy you meet at bars and settle for those who give you attention instead of those with true character?

Is your intention to be rid of an addiction? In practice, do you put yourself in situations where you have access to whatever you are addicted to?

Is your intention to be a woman of character?  In practice, do you surround yourself only with people who have none?

I think God’s word has a lot of logic and common sense when it comes to the issue of direction versus intention.  Let’s all evaluate our lives this week and change direction if necessary.  It would be a wonderful thing to get to the end of our lives and not have to wonder, “How did I end up here?”

Michelle