Don’t Sweat The Mess

Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

Proverbs 14:4 (NKJV)

I’ve always liked this practical little proverb. It makes a simple statement about realities of life.

First of all, if you’ve ever been around cattle, you know they leave a mess. It’s a lot of work to take care of farm animals. You have to shovel manure and feed them and harness them for work. So the first part of the proverb says if you don’t have an ox, you don’t have any cleanup. But then who is going to pull the wagon or the plow?

Okay, so how does this apply to us? I can think of a lot of applications. First of all, it applies to people. A lot of people complain about other people. Some say, “Well I’d like to find the perfect church, but there are just too many imperfect people there.” That’s right. If we could just get rid of all of those people, you wouldn’t have to vacuum the classrooms or clean the bathrooms. You would never have any issues to resolve. You wouldn’t have to have prayer meetings or Bible studies or Christmas plays. All those things are a lot of work. In fact, you could just have empty buildings with nobody making any messes anywhere.

Or we could realize that we need each other. People are worth it. We do need to love each other and bear each other’s burdens. Children in the halls, fingerprints on the doors—it’s all good. All these things are signs of life, and yes, they’re worth it.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Moms, when your kids are still at home, don’t sweat the small stuff; redeem the time. Although Pam Tebow has a journalism degree, she chose to be a homeschool mom raising five kids. She was faithful to teach them to memorize Scripture. There must have been many days when the housework suffered as she did lessons and meals and drove kids to sports games. The Tebow family came into the spotlight when their youngest son, Tim, won the Heisman Trophy. When Tim Tebow wore John 3:16 under his eyes, millions of people googled it to find out what it means. Good job, Mom Tebow.

One Year Bible Reading

Judges 4:1–5:31; Luke 22:35-53; Psalm 94:1-23; Proverbs 14:3-4