If you do something bad, thinking what you're doing is good, what counts? the bad act or the good thought?

Question

ok, since i see some people are confused by my question, i'll give an example: say you lie to someone about who you are because you love them and you know they will hate you if they know who you really are coz your families had a vendeta. if you tell her the truth you will hurt her, so you lie for her own good and happiness. she is very happy with you but if she knows your true identity she will hate you and herself for loving you.

in that case do you get condemned for lying to her, or is it concidered a good deed coz you prevented her from getting hurt?

Answer 1

The right thing done at the wrong time is the wrong thing to of done.

Answer 2

The good thought is always what counts even if your the only one who knows it.

But, like any mistake we have to face it, accept it, fix it or pay for it, let it go and finally we have to learn from it.  

Answer 3

This is called rationalization.

Hitler belived that exterminating the Jews and other "undesirables" was an act that was "good" for mankind.  Does his "good intentions" outweigh the evil of his actions?

In your example, your "good intention" has robbed the familes a chance for reconciliation and will only reinforce the vendeta when the truth comes out.  

Answer 4

Your intention was to lie. You cant prevent hurt feelings with lies. It will hurt double now because of the lie.

Answer 5

Two wrongs can not make one right. April Fools Day everyone knows that is the particular day for telling lies.

As a kid while you`d done something wrong the first thing was to find someone to blame.

Adults the worse. That would depends on what subject that you were talking about if you did something bad. Criminals always denied what they had committed, they even tried very hard to cover their tracks.

Answer 6

the good thought..

Answer 7

the bad act

im sorry

but good intentions do not = good actions

keep your good intentions in mind, but the fact that you hurt people? still beats it

Answer 8

If your intention really is truly good (you have to be honest here) then it really does matter. You cannot know how people will react to your actions. Say you have a good intention, like giving somebody a flower, and they respond by killing their Mother. Obviously, that is not your fault. You cannot control how people react, you can only do your best. So, intentions do matter.

Also, if your mind and heart are open, you should be receptive to any bad response and see if there was something to learn from the situation. That's part of the learning process.

Answer 9

The good thought is what counts.  But you'll still be, sadly, on your way to h**l.  Especially if your intentions were driven by a misguided political agenda.

Choose wisely.

Answer 10

usually you would get condemned for your lie because at that moment it would seem to be a big issue. but after some time, the opposite party would cool down and then look through your logic and good intention. but this depends on the degree of trust between the two persons. but understand that anything strong cannot be developed on the foundation of lie. so it would be correct to reveal the true identity or the truth and then face & tackle the consequences  

Answer 11

Some people would rather be the only bird looking over their shoulder they know in the moment what their motives are and many of them do not hold themselves responsible because they are waiting to be seen by another kind of bird.  

Answer 12

The good thought, as long as it is genuine. If your family is hungry and you kill a pig for them to eat, you are doing something bad upon the pig.