Thoughts, fantasizing, daydreaming, etc. Why are they bad?

[SeekingHeaven]

If a person has good intentions and nice thoughts in their mind yet does nothing to put any of those intentions into action, it does no good and is worthless. You don’t get credit for doing anything good.

Now why is it that a person can have negative thoughts and fantasies and doesn’t act on them still be sinful? In both scenarios we see that intentions and no action are worthless and do not count, except for one of the two apparently. I thought a person’s mind was the safest place, but even there and in your dreams can you be guilty of sin. Why?

 

[Blade_and_Blood]

Any Catholic or Christian would say something along the lines of, “It’s temptation, therefore it is sinful.”

Some would even pull out the Sin of Sloth card.

Psychologically, it is inevitable. Sigmund Freud may actually be right about his latent content theory.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

 

[T700]

In baseball, we are taught to keep our eye on the ball to increase the chance of hitting it. Similarly, by dwelling on sinful things, even if we don’t do them, we lead our inclination toward evil. We make ourselves lean toward the sin, if you will.

A passing thought may not be in itself be a sin, but why would you choose to fixate on what you know to be harmful?

Paul

 

[ckempston]

If a person has good intentions and nice thoughts in their mind yet does nothing to put any of those intentions into action, it does no good and is worthless. You don’t get credit for doing anything good.

Now why is it that a person can have negative thoughts and fantasies and doesn’t act on them still be sinful? In both scenarios we see that intentions and no action are worthless and do not count, except for one of the two apparently. I thought a person’s mind was the safest place, but even there and in your dreams can you be guilty of sin. Why?

Who says we get no credit? Seems to me that prayer is nothing more than well intentioned thoughts, and you sure seem to get “credit” for that. The other point I would make is that your thoughts certainly effect your actions. I’d be confident in saying that a person who has positive thoughts is more likely to do positive things, and vice versa.

 

[rowermath]

Any Catholic or Christian would say something along the lines of, “It’s temptation, therefore it is sinful.”

Actually, temptation is not sin. Jesus was indeed tempted in the desert, yet did not sin. Most if not all of the saints were tempted, yet did not sin because of it.
However, temptation can in fact lead to sin and often does, which happens much too often at least for me (please pray for me!).
Temptation itself is not sinful! Just don’t let it lead you there.

 

[SteveGC]

I sympathize a little with you here.

But let me offer you this…

Perhaps your good thoughts don’t turn into good deeds because your sinful thoughts are subconsciously (and spiritually) restraining you from doing the good.

I would never put it past the father of lies to arm himself with that type of weapon.

God Bless.

 

[Trishie]

If a person has good intentions and nice thoughts in their mind yet does nothing to put any of those intentions into action, it does no good and is worthless. You don’t get credit for doing anything good.

Now why is it that a person can have negative thoughts and fantasies and doesn’t act on them still be sinful? In both scenarios we see that intentions and no action are worthless and do not count, except for one of the two apparently. I thought a person’s mind was the safest place, but even there and in your dreams can you be guilty of sin. Why?

Hi, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
In your dreams at night you don’t have full responsibility. To sin, you need to knowingly and willingly consent to something which you know/believe to be a sin. In your sleep you don’t have control of your will or your free choice.

If you don’t act on bad or negative thoughts it isn’t sinful, but it is sinful if you deliberately harbour them…and to hang on to them means you have done something. You’ve made a choice to hang on to them. If you deliberately seek to have bad or negative thought you have done something, you have acted in choosing to do so. You haven’t sinned if you banish them as soon as you can, if you see that they will lead you into sin.

Even with bad or negative thoughts we have the potential to make choices. In making choices, we have acted, so it’s not the case that they are necessarily sinful, unless we choose to allow them to be. Sometimes these thoughts are habitual, in which case there can be dinimished responsibility, however we do have a responsibility to work to overcome the habit or tendency.

Our good intentions and thought…at the very least we can turn them into prayer for good. That is a choice and an action. Hopefully we choose to act on our good intentions the best we can manage with God’s grace.

God bless you, Trishie