We judge ourselves by our intentions but we judge them on their actions.
Great line from a sermon a few months back. (Check it out at mwchurch.com, marriage). It really hit home. We judge those around us or our spouse based on their actions but, we judge ourselves on our intentions.
If we were to bring this into business it would never fly. We were going to have higher profits. We were going to increase our customer satisfaction. We were going to reduce turnover. We were going to add more clients. The Intentions will get you fired. The Intentions will put you out of business.
No wonder our relationships and especially our marriages are suffering and falling apart. We hold them accountable for their Actions or lack of actions of their love toward us. We get frustrated because they say one thing and do something different. But what about us? We think we are doing a much better job because we have such great Intentions. Our Intentions are to say thanks, to send a note, to plan something fun, to share my feelings. We have great Intentions. Guess what? Great Intentions will put your relationship out of business just like your actual business.
Intentions must be backed up with Actions. We need to put our money where our mouth is. If you want better relationships, a better marriage, better friendships and even better companies, we need to move from Intentions to Actions.
We judge ourselves on our Intentions but we judge them on their Actions!