Why do some people say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"?

Question

Does this mean that having ggod intentions are bad? Its a confusing statement and I just wanted peoples view points hopefully backed with research personal or known. Thank you

Answer 1

Because it's true. For example, the government could decide to campaign then legislate for everyone to wear crash helmets all the time arguing that people fall over and have accidents so what good intentions they have... Leading to the hell of having to wear one all the time, looking like every other deweasil and many numb nuts taking unnecessary risks because they feel safe in their helmets, causing unnecessary accidents or bigger accidents than would otherwise have been the case, (as currently w. seat belts).

Answer 2

This is a really good question!

It doesn't mean all good intentions are bad. There are many good intentions that lead us down a good path. But, while someone may have good intentions, when the actions taken to attain that intention are not good, it can lead down a path that ends up destroying that person and their good will. In other words, something that appears good initially, can end up being a guise for something horrific and lead them to the very path they didn't want to end up on.

Here is a good example. Several years ago they did a study to see what would happen if babies were not held or "loved." The researchers took a bunch of orphaned babies and seperated them into two groups - ones that would be cared for, and ones that would be isolated and only their basic needs of food and shelter would be met.
Their intentions were "good." They wanted to see the effects of how nurturing can affect a child in early development

The results of that experiment were attrocious. Many of those babies died because of the lack of physical contact and the ones that survived grew up stiff, unable to connect with others, and had severe psychological and emotional problems. Afterwords, they realized their abhorrid mistake and there was a law passed forbidding experiments of this kind ever again.
So, while the intention was "good" the path taken was agregeous and the suffering caused from it can never be undone.


Another example: A parent may want the best for their child. They don't want to hurt their child in any way, so, they decide not to ever punish or discipline their child.. Their intention is a "good" one - not to harm their child or cause their child to be upset. However, more than likely, that child is going to grow up spoiled, self-centered, and a non-functional adult. What the parents didn't want to have happened did because their "good intention" wasn't carried out in a good manner. In essence, they failed at the very thing they were trying to prevent.

Just because an intention is good does not mean the actions taken are going to be appropriate or good and can end up doing a great amount of harm.

Answer 3

Barkley and Valkerie had it correct! It means exactly what it says.
Intent gets us no place, it is the act of. Someones intent may be an-others destruction. Like they say 'The best laid plans..."
'One mans trash is another mans treasure'
These are all sayings that basically come down to the same thing and the answer you are looking for. Someone who causes a war with the intention of making life better for the majority doesn't see that 'It's still a war'! People attempt to make things better but sadly it sometimes goes awry.
Something a bit more simplistic would be, 'I wanted to help but I just didn't get there in time'. 'I was going to tell you the truth I just didn't know how'
Basically this is all it means! I hope this helped!

Answer 4

Good intentions are not evil. Its is the means that you take to get there. For example Hitler just wanted help his people out of economic depression and improve the human race. Good intentions. So he murdered millons of Jews and waged war against the rest of the world. Bad means. Intend to do good things but be careful about what you do to accomplish that goal

Answer 5

Good intentions, not acted on, are just a sign of spiritual laziness.
I am not talking about the occasional problem with accomplishing things because of other things getting in the way, but I am speaking of the person who is all talk and no action.

Answer 6

So many people have so called good intentions to get it together one day, go to church, help others, tithe,serve, all sorts of nice kind & good things for themselves,family or simply others.
They make promises to God on death beds, fox holes,on bar stools and God knows where only to be broken promises.

"Yes the road to Hell is paved with good intentions", just a saying.!

Having good intentions is not bad at all, If you follow through !!!
If I have a sick body and I keep saying I'm going to the Dr. and I don't , I continue to get sicker and sicker and never go to the Dr., never follow through with my intention to go to the Dr. and then one day I die. What good has that good intention served me ????
Have you got it, I may have died anyway but who knows~~~Jill

Answer 7

I believe that the phrase is used to note a lack of action. An intention is just a thought. Looking back on a thought that you didn't act on, and then wish you did, fits this phrase for me. An example would be "I was gonna .... but I never got around to it." I hope this helps.

Answer 8

I think it means that people don't make decisions that lead them to hell thinking, "Oh I want to be evil and go to a place of eternal emptiness and torment". They think they are fine and doing well in life but they are in truth spiritually falling into descent. Thats why many Christians warn "good" people that they still need Redemption, even if they feel fine or are a "nice" person.

Answer 9

An intention is "intending" to do something. The point of the saying is you're just intending to do something good, but if you want to do something for the world, ACTUALLY do something good. It is confusing, I know, which is why I don't like the saying.

Answer 10

It means that evil people don't know they're evil.

Hitler thought he was doing the world a favor, but he wasn't. Good intentions (making the world better), but evil nonetheless.