Quote: The road to hell is paved with good intentions!
Scripture: For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Intentions: A plan of action or purpose, either immediate or ultimate. So says Webster’s dictionary. Our intentions rule our actions and behaviors, and sometimes even take precedence over our true plans, hopes and desires. Many a Christian has a good desire to serve the Lord and become a disciple of Jesus, but something happens along the way. Our intentions are our will, motives, designs and wishes, and they often suppress our commitment to serve Jesus with all of our heart and mind. This is what Paul was referring to in Romans chapter seven.
Scripture: So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ my Lord. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25
An Ancient Observation: A Medieval philosopher, Cornelius Agrippa, once made a great observation that is so true to the scriptures that we need to take a look at it. He said, and I quote: Divinity is annexed to the mind, the mind to the intellect, the intellect to the intentions, the intentions to the imagination, the imaginations to the senses, and the senses to the real world. This is a valuable observation and seems to explain a lot of our problems with the choices that we make.
The Mind: The all-powerful, all knowing God connects to us through our mind. This is the seat of reflective thought, and where we are God conscious, and God is either on the throne or we are. You connect to God and worship Him in the mind. It is the seat of understanding. The Bible does not separate the mind and the intellect as Agrippa did.
The Intellect: The intellect is where we accumulate knowledge. It is the seat of wisdom, morality (right and wrong), learning, and reasoning. It is in the intellect that we know God’s Word and His will for us. We can understand His commands, precepts, and judgments. We can understand truth in the intellect, and our sinful nature.
The Intentions: This is where the will, desire motives, purpose, consideration, designs and wishes lie. This is where we make choices, and it is the seat of the sin nature that Paul talks about in Romans. It is where the deliberate exercise of volition occurs. We often have good intentions, but then, what happens?
The Imagination: This is where we often find ourselves disassociating with reality. We fantasize, and create mental images which have little to do with reality. Your imagination includes ideas, schemes, contemplations, fantasies and images that are usually not even connected to the real world. Your imagination is not necessarily bad because it can include creativity, art, poetry, new ideas, etc.
The Senses: This is your immediate connection to the real world. Without your wonderful senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) you would not even know there was a real world. They are the gateway to the inner man, and are not necessarily bad.
The Real World: When you examine this observation you can see why we have so many problems. The access to the inner man from the real world goes first through the imagination and then to the intentions. That is why we make so many wrong decisions. Advertisers know this very well and that is why they appeal to our imagination and not to our intellect. When you understand this model you can understand how important it is to not let your imagination run your life. Let the Word of God and your relationship with Christ rule your actions and decisions. But be aware, the imagination is a powerful force in your life, and can lead to much trouble, pain and suffering.
