Did you ever find yourself suddenly pausing to reflect on something that you’ve heard all your life? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone—in real life, on TV, in a book, etc—use the phrase “hell-bent.” They say “This guy is hell-bent to succeed” or they’ll say “those people are hell-bent to destroy that man’s reputation.” Something like that. I’m sure you’ve heard it too. Hopefully you don’t say it; it’s profane.
Nevertheless, I got to thinking about the phrase. What does it really mean? Where did it come from? As to the latter question, I’m not sure exactly, but I know it’s relatively modern. It comes from the early 19th century and was used as slang in America in the same way it is used today. Basically it means just what it sounds like: Someone who is determined to achieve a goal, no matter how many horrible acts they have to commit to get there. It means someone is blinded by their goal and even if they have to burn everything down to claim their prize, they will do it. A person who would burn down a kingdom just to sit on a throne of ashes… that’s a person “hell-bent.”
If you just stop and look at the words… I hope you get a little chill on the back of your neck like I do.
To be “bent” toward something means you are angled toward it. The car is veering toward it. The path is turning toward it. Wherever you are bent is where you are headed unless something intervenes and you change course.
Imagine being bent toward Hell…
No goal is worth that destination. If you find yourself so recklessly myopic that others describe you as “hell-bent,” you need to stop what you’re doing and reassess yourself. Do not be hell-bent. Be “heaven bound.” Make that your goal. Make that your destination. Do whatever is needed to achieve that goal. The great thing is, the things you would do to achieve a heavenly life are things no one would have to ascribe to a person who was “hell-bent.” They are things people would call “charitable, patient, kind, and merciful.” That’s the way to be. Don’t be hell-bent.
Be heaven-bound.
~Matthew