This has actually come from long, deep thoughts that I've had over the past six weeks. Whenever I had time, I'd just bust out this perplexing thought:
"Do intentions matter in justification of actions?"
Yeah, this thought hurt my brain for that long, long time, but today I learned the answer by thinking about something else entirely. Intentions really don't matter at all. In court, or in any case of punishment, your actions are weighed alongside your intentions, but besides that, intentions are merely a diversion from what truly happened.
Anyway, I guess I should say why I came to this conclusion. Originally, I sought the bible (well, I still do) to help me answer these types of questions. In all honesty, I couldn't find what I was looking for besides the fact that God himself judges with the "intentions of the heart." The way that God judges should "be our holy example," but then I realized shortly after "who knows the heart" so I arrived right where I started, with nothing.
So then I was sort of stumbling around my thoughts, unable to think of anything useful on my own. Suddenly and randomly, my thoughts brought up that time when I told someone that I was going to miss a football game back during Marching Band season. I told them on Tuesday; the game was on Friday. So, they were mad and not irrationally so but they asked "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Unwittingly, I told them, but then I realized looking back on it, that there was no purpose to justify my actions. I wasn't going to the football game. If I were about to go be a martyr, the end result would be the same if I had to go launch a nuclear bomb on that day, I was not going to be there at that football game.
After that initial thought of why I shouldn't justify my actions except for judgement's sake, my bible came in handy. Not only are Christians told not to judge, more importantly, they're told to "forgive as God forgave you." Truth be told, by the time I give you the end result, if it should offend you, you should accept my apology rather play 20 questions while my indebtedness kills me on the inside. Not to mention, even if I do not ask for forgiveness, (Again, another deep thought I had been struggling with a long time) you should "get rid of all bitterness" and tell me about the crime against the earth that I have committed rather than whatever dumb thing you could do instead.
So yeah, by this point, anything that you should have against my conclusion should be melted away. Again, any questions, debatable points, or angry assumptions I have made, I will gladly answer, debate or apologize for, respectively. I feel like this was a good first post. As for my closing, I choose a Bon Iver quote. Enjoy.
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
