Good Intentions Only Go So Far

And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart.... 2 Samuel 6:2-3

David was doing a good thing here. And he had good intentions. David intended no disrespect to the ark--he used a new cart...in good condition, quite possibly built just for this purpose. But, for all his good intentions, David was directly disobeying God's instructions. Now, like it or not, there are a lot of gray areas in Christianity; there are a lot of things that aren't specifically outlined for us that may or may not be okay for us to do. But when God gives a direct command, either by His Word or by His Spirit, we better pay attention. David didn't mean for anything bad to happen. He was doing the right thing...but he was doing it the wrong way...and a man died because of it. Don't let noble intentions convince you that it's okay to do the right thing in the wrong way, or vice versa. "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." We can avoid immeasurrable heartache if we just do what we know is right!