[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2023]
“Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” Aficionados of early twentieth century cinematic comedy will no double recognise the catch-phrase that Stan Laurel borrowed from ‘The Mikado’ and used to great effect in his partnership with Oliver Hardy. It was a key part of the relationship between the two that Hardy took the blame for the mess whilst Laurel always came across as the innocent victim of Hardy’s incompetence.
Do we like to blame something or someone else when we find ourselves in a mess? Is the kitchen in a mess? – blame the incontinent kitten. Is the bedroom in a mess? – blame the kids. Is the garden in a mess? – blame the neighbours. Is the country in a mess? Well, we all have our own ideas of who to blame for that.
What is a mess? How do we define it? One online dictionary definition includes the following: a dirty or untidy condition; a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered; a state of confusion; an unpleasant or difficult situation. To that we can add strained relationships, finances in disarray, challenges at work and all sorts of other problems that seem insurmountable.
Of course, ‘mess’ can also be subjective; one man’s mess is another man’s logic: I know where everything is – don’t touch it! We can be happy in our mess, we can even be too closely involved to recognise it as a potential problem.
The Bible gives a number of examples of people who were in a mess.
Sarah knew that God had promised that her husband would have a son but she was now too old for child-bearing and she ruled herself out. However, she thought she could give God a helping hand by co-opting a surrogate mother and in doing so she created a mess that persists to this day.
It is difficult to think of anywhere more messy than the stomach of a fish. Jonah was there because he wanted to thwart God’s plans for the people of Nineveh, God allowed him to get into that mess in order to teach him obedience.
Nebuchadnezzar had acquired all that his vast empire could offer him, riches, power, palaces, no doubt even a barber and a manicurist. Despite several dramatic demonstrations of God’s power that he dismissed, God decided to teach him a lesson about pride.
He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. Daniel 4:33 [NIVUK]
These three people had no one else to blame for their circumstances but God included them in his plans. We can argue that times have changed, that social pressures are more intense, that economic factors carry heavier demands. We have limits on our time and money which mean that addressing the mess is a low priority.
Living our lives in a mess is not a good witness to our family, our friends and our community. God is willing to help you reassess your priorities but you have to start the conversation. Let’s look again at Becky’s words on Sunday morning:
I messed up, I gave up
I looked up, God showed up.
Looks like life could be on the up and up.
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Last week’s reflection: It Ain’t Necessarily So
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys