Show All Your Work – #PartialCredit

It was not until this one day, I heard a man speaking, that I seriously questioned the validity of, the road to hell being paved with good intentions. There have been some occasions in which this phrase was referenced that gave me serious pause. But others where it right nicely made sense of what, prior to its reciting, occurred.

Because there is indeed a road to hell. And my friends, it is paved with something. I just don’t believe it is our good intentions.

We believe that because we are an outcomes-based society. We do not care about how direct deposit works. As long as that account balance is positive on the 1^st and 15^th, we do not question the manpower it once took to configure the proper accounts to the correct pay. Footlocker has yet to experience difficulty selling Nike’s, despite all we hear about sweatshops. And me. I have not googled, not even “that one time when”, how they create all the beautiful things I see in Build-A-Bear. I am content to go half on a baby. #butnotonthepricetag

We got no cash for those daggone "S's"...

But here is a better example. I was a stellar student from Kindergarten to PhD currently in progress. I can count the number of bad grades I ever received in my entire lifetime on 1 hand, with fingers to spare. That is not me boasting. That is me lamenting on those unsuccessful displays of my aptitude. I brought a report card home that had maybe 23 A’s (because you got hella grades on those 8 x 14 carbon copy report cards) and 1 B+. Literally, 1 B+ on the entire report card. I was disappointed that I could not say to my Godmother that term that I got “Straight A’s”…but I was satisfied kinda, with my work. My father gave me a kiss on the forehead and told me I did a great job. When my mother got a look at that thing, she said, Hmph…looks like you might need to watch less TV. and went on about her night.

And that was an actual quote. I had the best intentions to get good grades. Did all my homework. Performed excellently on tests. Listened to my teacher. Paid attention in class. Took copious notes. Studied what I did not understand. I did all that. She was only concerned with the outcome I did not produce – Straight A’s. And though she did not punish me, there were no kisses.

What am I saying here? Glad you thought that question.

The road to hell is paved with the stuff you find in hell. It is not paved with our good intentions. Not at all. The effort of a 10-year-old attempting to achieve another Straight A report card is not in hell. It is not paved with parents admonishing their children to correct them, only to have them go off and do treacherous things. It is not paved with my attempts to love and understand, though they lead to break up. Nope. It’s definitely not paved with that. Because if it is really love, it is God.  #itwasreallyloveNE,promise

God is overjoyed when we do our best ¹⁰that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; #IColossians1 #PaulWroteSomeEpicLettersHuh? Because He, unlike me, knows that I can never be perfect – but my good works can bear some tasty produce! Though, I want to get 100% every time, I was not made to be perfect. I was made to be flawed, so that my youngest sister would know and see resilience. So that I might have a story to share with a college freshman during her first heartbreak. So that I might learn how to save myself, from my worst attempts at being my best self.

Beating myself (or me, or I) up because I forgot to pray last night before bedtime is important, in the sense that I should remember to have a lil talk with Jesus regularly, but to bear His cross? That was already done. He cares about my heart. He cares about each and every time my heart sets out to love others in my actions. Each time I mean to love, the way that He loves me. And each time I do that, it will not always turn out right – because humanity is flawed. My words will be misinterpreted. My actions will be misconstrued, and my sincere gratitude will get missed.

And some of you will see those less than stellar outcomes and pour my intentions in the concrete mix, make a stone, and with mortar add another brick to the road to hell. Only, you have not been paving that road at all. You have been creating a path to salvation. Look up. There is light all about you.

You know what I appreciated most about Math Class, as compared to other subjects? While there was a clear right answer, just one right answer, you did not lose all the points on the problem. That was if, and only if, you showed all your work. That way, the instructor could determine if you interpreted the problem wrong from the beginning (but were correct in your wrong interpretation – math nerds like me understand this), inverted a mathematical symbol, or inadvertently circled the wrong answer at the end.

God is doing the same thing with us every single day. He knows when we leave the house with a heart meant to do evil, or if we set out to change the world. And at each step, He is giving us points, when He sees our good work. When He sees us get it right we get partial credit – even if the world believes us wrong – even if the outcome is wrong. You actually get A’s for effort with Jesus. *not with my mama tho*

Some of you will read this and not be convinced. You will continue on believing that dark road is paved with the best of my life’s intended works. But really, how can it be? If I am doing the work of Him who created me, reading His word, and living life every day aimed at being more like Him – then I am creating light.

I have never walked on the road to hell – or seen it. But something tells me, there is no light.