2:113 – But I Didn’t Make The Mess

#faithbites #faithjourney mess

This morning my eldest came into the kitchen with kool-aid on her pajamas, telling me it spilled on her and the couch. I told her to clean it up and then stain stick her PJs. She said she didn’t make the mess so she shouldn’t have to clean it. I asked her who made the mess and she blamed her sister even though her sister wasn’t there. Her rationalization was that because her sister left it on the couch the night before and when she sat down it spilled, it was her sisters fault.

This made me think of two main points. Sometimes in life, we have to clean up a mess that we didn’t make. (Welcome to Parenthood and life in general). Other times, we blame someone for making a mess, but we were the trigger that made the mess happen even though they set it up. (the drink shouldn’t have been on the couch).

We have to both clean up the mess of others and take responsibility for the messes that trigger.

Scripture

• Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it. – Ezra 10:4
• And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains with myself. – Job 19.4
• You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things – Romans 2:1

Reflection

Our first two verses are about personal responsibility. Sure, we may not have 100% responsibility for things that happen (putting the juice on the couch), but we do have some responsibility (we moved and it spilled). The big thing is we can be forgiven for those mistakes. The other thing is taking responsibility not only means asking for forgiveness but making it right when we can.

As we explained to our girl scouts. Think of life as a tube of toothpaste. All of the toothpaste that is squeezed out are your mistakes. You can be forgiven but the toothpaste is still out of the tube and won’t go back. Jesus forgives but we can clean up the toothpaste on Earth. Taking responsibility usually has an action and not just words.

The Romans verse is about the blame game. Guess what? Casting blame doesn’t help. How do we condemn others for what we have done before? When we take responsibility for what we have done and help others do the same, then we don’t need to blame. We can help others grow.

I know this won’t be the last time I tell my children to clean up a mess even if they didn’t make it. I also tell them as a family, we need to help each other clean and take responsibility. We are all part of God’s family and need to help each other clean and be responsible.

Charge

Do you have a mess to clean that you didn’t make? Do you have some piece of responsibility in it? Can you help your brothers and sisters clean their messes and be responsible? This is definitely a case where baby steps are needed to move away from blame and into a place of housekeeping and caring.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the gift of family. Help us act as your family working together to clean our messes and take responsibility for our part in any action. Remind us that this isn’t easy but we need to let go of blame and anger and focus on growth, love, and helping each other. In your glorious and, Amen.