About ten years ago, I read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. When I was done with it, I wished I had read it when I was a teenager. Franklin was an inspiring character for so many reasons, but the one that stood out for me was the intentionality of his life. As a young man, he came up with a plan for his life, and he followed it. He set goals for himself, and reached many of them.
But even in Franklin's charmed life, there were major interruptions to his plan. Franklin didn't foresee his involvement in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, nor in the establishment of the United States of America. Nor did he count on the tragic death of his beloved young son. He became one of the "founding fathers" of this country despite the fact that it was not one of his goals.
But his seriousness of purpose had everything to do with the many things he achieved without ever intending to do so. Having goals was an end in itself. It focused and energized him in ways that readied him for the unpredictable events in his life. He is much more famous for the way he took detours than he is for following the road he planned for himself.
Back in our youth, when we did a lot of hitch-hiking, one of my Santa Cruz friends stood at the bottom of Highway 17 with a sign that read "San Francisco", and held out his thumb for a ride. No one stopped. Hours passed. Finally he turned the sign around and on it he wrote "Alaska", and held out his thumb again. Right away somebody stopped and said, "Alaska! Cool! Well, I'm not going that far, but would it help if I took you as far as San Francisco?" Having clear and noble intentions takes us farther down the road than we otherwise would go, even if where we land is far from where we planned.
The Soviet Union was big on its five-year plans. But that empire fell because it became enslaved to its goals instead of empowered by them. The Soviets tried to control everything, right down to the style of shoes that would be produced years in the future. The result was a corrupt, backward economy. And lots of ugly shoes! A good goal is one that liberates us, rather than one that gets in the way when circumstances change, as they do inevitably. A good goal gives us energy that can be re-directed to positive purposes when roadblocks appear ahead.
Intentionality gives us power we can use to help others and ourselves, even if particular goals become unrealistic. Setting and seeking after goals fills our sails, and as long as we prayerfully keep our hands on the tiller, we can go to good places no matter what obstacles arise.
This is a good time to make such goals, or to dust off the ones we've already set for ourselves. May we be freed and empowered by our best intentions in this new year of 2006!