The Ends, the Means, and the Heart in Between

"The ends do not justify the means for me, and it is faulty reasoning to look at results and guess at motivation.” This quote from one of the characters in my novel, The Lafarnge Chronicles: the Fellowship of the Heart (coming soon), raises an issue when we think about our responses to and relationships with others. When we look at outcomes, the ends, we don’t always know the intents, the means, of others’ hearts; we don’t know their motivations. Guessing at such can create huge problems. That is why we need to be honest with ourselves and judge our own motivations when we engage in judging others. Do we want a solid, functioning, fulfilling relationship with that other person, or do we want to be right, thereby, making them wrong? We can be right all day long looking at things from our own perspective. We can be right about everything and anything in our own rationalizations, but we will find ourselves alone, distressed, depressed, and repressed. Beyond that, we might find ourselves in a direct conflict with the person who we judge—unpleasant at best, dangerous at worst.

The other side of the coin should be considered by those who wish to move in the fellowship of the heart. As we mature spiritually and increasingly awaken to self, we should realize the dangers of justifying questionable actions towards others in order to gain what we might deem a desirable outcome—sacrifice a person or principle in order to achieve an end that we feel is worthy. If we say that we will go out with a friend but a better offer comes along, then does the end of more fun justify blowing off our friend and breaking our word? If we think that our form of government is superior to others, do we justify war which causes death in order to impose our standards on another nation? (I’m not necessarily speaking of taking up the cause of those who ask for and need help; however, I’m also not saying that we should engage in war to help those who we decide need it.

This huge topic could get unwieldy, but I hope that I have written something that will help you think and discover truth about yourself. For those in the fellowship of the heart, the ends never justify the means because that idea always equates to doing something dishonest or harmful to others to gain a perceived benefit. It is also harmful to judge what others have done and to conclude that their motivation and actions to reach that end were faulty. Let’s test what we do moment by moment by the voice of our own hearts.