Your Intentions Matter

 But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. Thomas Merton

We all wonder if, indeed, we are in the center of God’s will. Should I have taken that job? Was that the right car to purchase? Should I have waited longer before saying yes to leading that ministry? Though we may sense God’s leading and even get confirmations that “this is the right thing to do” we are always walking by faith and are never really absolutely sure. That is why having the right intentions is so important.

When I was 15 it seemed like a great idea to wash my parent’s car. The “gonna drive pretty soon” bug had created an increasing interest in cars and I figured it couldn’t hurt to earn a few brownie points. The car was a 1967 Buick Electra 225. It was only a few years old at the time and so a washing really made the “washer” look impressive. Put bluntly- that baby shined!

There was one problem- it was really cold outside so I decided to pull it into the garage. The garage had a post in the middle separating the two doors. Drat that post! I pulled the car in at an angle to be able to wash all around the car with the doors closed, turned it too hard clipping that post and taking the “Electra 225” letters right off the side. These weren’t decals mind you. These were chrome, two holes through the car body per letter, type letters. Now the car was not only still dirty but stuck against the post, letters lying on the ground, white paint gouged into the car paint.

If you know anything about cars like the Electra 225 you know it is a bit of a show car. If I had rubbed the letters off a Ford Pinto no one would have noticed. In fact people don’t expect you to announce that you even drive a Ford Pinto because, well frankly, it is a crappy car. But the “225” well you just drive that baby around town real slow and let people see who is in that car because not everyone can afford something that nice. That is until the letters get swiped off. Then it just looks like another ghetto car.

I called my boss at the gas station I worked at and asked him to bring the tow truck and free the Buick. He was happy to do so. When he got there my dad showed up. Now my dad was a plumber and you usually just stayed out of his way unless he was taking you fishing. But today was not a fishing day. It was a “get my Buick away from the garage post” kind of day and I figured, at minimum I was in big trouble. However, much to my surprise, he laughed when he saw the whole thing taking place. He walked up, said “hi” to my boss, watched the car get scooted away from the “pole from hell”, and went in the house. I don’t recall ever having much of a conversation about those letters. He just said something like, “Don’t worry about it.” No cuss words, no flying hammers, no tantrums, just “Don’t worry about it”.

I have to believe that my dad knew my intentions were good and he let me off the hook because of that. I wonder if God is like that. Even doing our best, reading the Word, praying fervently, we might miss His will. But God sees our hearts and knows our intentions and He is happy we wanted to do the right thing. And since the universe doesn’t hinge around you or I doing the right thing all the time our honest mistakes will probably have limited negative affect. God can just call the tow truck.