What does "The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions" mean?

[meadow-foreigner]

My understanding is it just means that intentions aren't good enough, there must also be action (commitment, follow-through). I don't think it means anything beyond that, unless one wants to assign meaning. "Hell" is a Christian myth that as far as I know has no basis in reality, and is meant metaphorically.

It means that one can choose from many paths to get to an endpoint, though they are not the same. Some paths may be so terrible compared to others that, in spite of having good intentions, one may literally mess up if one chooses the high road as much as one may literally mess up if one chooses the low road. It all depends on the ability of one's choosing with the tools one may have in different circumstances and situations.