Good Intentions Are Not Enough

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions” is an aphorism that has become a kind of proverb.

The Wikipedia entry on this statement illustrates its uncertain origins with multiple variations of the sentiment.  One variation has it going all the way back to the “Aeneid” of Virgil. (That Dante chose to use the figure of Virgil as his guide through Hell is likely only an interesting coincidence.)

The destructive power of good intentions cut free from humility and self-criticism almost certainly marred the 20^th Century.  This is most evident in the disastrous failures of various attempts at Communism.

But we also see this divorce in the sometimes sad, sometimes tragic, and sometimes malignant failures of smaller, less organized groups.  In these smaller groups we see everything from the perceived enlightening power of drugs to the pseudo-clarity of reductionist philosophies or the private epiphanies of cult leaders.

And all of these bad outcomes, or close enough to all, began with good intentions, or at the least with intentions that those who held them believed to be good.

Giving Up Is Not The Answer

Obviously, giving up good intentions is not a solution to bad outcomes. When a truly good intention leads to a bad outcome, the problem lies in some sort of human fallibility, not in the goodness of the intention.

Of course that assumes the intention was actually good, a different problem than what makes good intentions turn out badly. For the purposes of this short essay, I assume the good intentions under discussion are indeed good, and leave the problem of mistaken intentions to another time.

So what goes wrong with our good intentions?

Murphy’s Law

The infamous Murphy’s Law states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” This observation goes back further than the modern formulations published commercially in 1977 (“Murphy’s Law, and Other Reasons Why Things Go WRONG,” by Arthur Bloch).

This observation, in alternative forms, probably goes as far back as the early 1900s.  And for anyone willing to put in the time and effort to look for similar observations, it doubtless goes back before the 1900s.

Between what my Grandfather used to refer to as the “natural cussedness of the world” and the general fallibility of humanity, Murphy‘s Law seems about as unavoidable as death, gravity, and taxes.

So why do our good intentions seem doomed to go wrong?

Our Fallen Natures

The simple answer is our fallen nature. As St Paul writes in the 7^th Chapter of Romans: “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate” (Romans7:15).

Even when we know what we ought to do, we are often unable to keep ourselves from doing what we ought not to do. As we say when we pray the Confiteor at Mass, “I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.”

Granted, there are plenty of times when our good intentions fail without it being directly our own active fault. But even in those instances it is hard not to imagine that we might have done better had we paid more attention, or been more diligent, or just generally increased our own awareness.

This can be a trap, however, for those are the beginning steps toward scrupulosity. This excessive guilt and moral/religious anxiety risks our losing touch with God’s gentle love and mercy toward sinners.

Military planners and others use the term “friction” to explain why plans go wrong.  It’s a fitting term because all plans have what might be considered moving parts – actions that must be taken, actions to coordinate, and actions to complete. Just as in physical systems, dynamic human situations and actions are subject to friction, to distortions, and interference.

So we know. Good intentions can go wrong for myriad reasons, from our own innate fallibility to advanced or even simple ‘Murphyism.’ Things go wrong because entropy never needs refreshing.

But does this need to lead to Hell?

If It Doesn’t Lead To Heaven . . .

If something doesn’t lead us to Heaven, there’s only one other place to go. Dante placed the virtuous pagans in Limbo, but Limbo was never an official Catholic doctrine. It was just a widely held opinion that the Church has abandoned in favor of emphasizing God’s infinite mercy and justice – justice unhampered by human perspective, but informed instead by all that is divine.

I say abandoned, but it might be more accurate to say that while the Church has attempted to abandon the notion, some individuals are somewhat difficult to persuade to give up favorite notions.  So I would not be confident saying that the people of the Church have given up the idea entirely.

I have personally soothed my concerns in this, and a few other areas, by simply confronting myself with a question.   Can I imagine myself as being in any way more compassionate and merciful than the God who sent his only begotten Son to die on a cross for my salvation?

There being some limits to my arrogance, I have to admit that I cannot imagine such a thing.  I remind myself of the parable of the Vineyard – God’s decision on the rewards of others is not my concern. My hope lies in what I have been taught as a Catholic Christian and in God’s mercy toward me when he judges how well I have responded to what I have been taught. Being grateful for the Graces given me is more than enough to occupy my time and attention!

But here we get to what may be the actual crux of the old proverb about good intentions and the road to Hell. Are we putting our faith in the redeeming love of Jesus and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit? Or are we depending on our good intentions?

Pelagianism Then And Now

Pelagianism is the heresy that states that perfection in righteousness is possible and even mandatory. It came from the idea that after Christ’s Incarnation and Atonement,  depending on the example of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians ought to lead perfect lives at all times. In aid of this, Pelagius thought that human beings were essentially good, being part of Creation that was declared good by the Creator.

St. Augustine of Hippo disagreed with Pelagius, and was his main opponent during the lifetimes of both men. He sided in effect with St. Paul, whose understanding of our brokenness we have examined already. Like Paul and Augustine, we do what we know we ought not to do, and fail to do what we know we ought to do. We are fallen, and no amount of willpower will change our fallen nature.

Depending on Grace may lead us to far better lives than we might lead on our own. Even so I have noticed a singular fact when I read the writings of both the great and the lesser Saints.  All of the saints are uniformly convicted of their inability to behave with any degree of perfection in righteousness. All are dismayed by this, but none allow themselves to avoid the truth of it. We are fallen, and no efforts of our own will overcome that brokenness.

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

I do not know how old one has to be before realizing that “I meant well” is one of the most tired and least defensible of excuses. I know it never flew in my home when I was a kid.  It has also never weighed much in my estimation when offered to me over the years. For one reason, I have yet to hear anyone admit – apart from a few practitioners of political theater – that they wanted to cause problems, upset, or cause annoyance with what they did.

This is just one of those things that humans pick up from experience of the world around them. Meaning well is not enough. We have to think, to be aware, to use our experiences (sometimes combined with our imagination) to stay off the road to Hell.

More than that, we need to pray and keep our prayers lives ordered and regular. We need to attend Mass and participate in parish activities according to our several talents. And we need to avail ourselves of the full range of sacraments.

This way, when we stand before the Judgment Seat, we have something to say for ourselves other than “I meant well.” At that moment we will still depend on God’s infinite Grace and mercy . . . but the road we stand on will be paved with more than good intentions.