“Please excuse the mess. I’m so embarrassed I can’t believe I am letting you in right now.” My friend said to me as I entered her home.
She had something to show me, a project she had been working on and I couldn’t wait to see it.
As she took me to her closets full of products earned from her mad, couponing skills I was amazed.
This hyper disorganized chick could never have the patience or skill to tackle this kind of endeavor. She had closets and rows full of name brand products she had not only saved money on, but almost over half of it was free because of her ingenuity.
All I could do was exclaim over her talent and all she kept doing was shaking her head saying, “I’m so sorry about the mess.”
She wouldn’t stop apologizing and finally I looked at her and said lovingly, “Girl, we all have messes.”
And I meant it. Because the reality is her messy house that day, matched my messy life period.
On my way home I was thinking about all the messes we get embarrassed about, especially the outward areas people can visually see.
- When we are overweight.
- Our homes and lawns aren’t tidy.
- When our marriage is broken.
And aren’t we so quick at times to judge others for their broken places?
God recently thrust my eyes open to the fact that we are so quick to judge a dirty house, overweight body or outward mess, because it keeps our self-righteous noses from peering into our own dirty, inward mess.
Jesus had something to say about outward appearances.
This is what He had to say to the religious leaders of His day that had a tendency to judge, ya know the faithful, church going, knowing every scripture kind of people:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean. Matthew 23:25-26
He also called them snakes and vipers.
Lord have mercy.
Now I’m not saying we need to just let our homes go or not take care of our bodies. But what I am saying is, may we be very careful to judge another for any dirt in their lives. Because the area’s you and I may struggle, someone else may not and vice versa.
God isn’t impressed with sparkly houses, toned bodies, or perfect pedicures and lawns.
But, He is impressed when His people have pure hearts towards others and do inventory of their own sin and messes.
On the way home today I was listening to Lecrae’s new album Anomaly, and Ty played his new song for me, Broken, that he made with Kari Jobe. Here are some of my favorite lines:
Broken pieces acting like we ain’t cracked,
But we all messed up and can’t escape that.
We some broken people,
Come from broken homes,
Broken hearts inside of a broken soul.
All the pieces on the ground,
shattered are all the dreams
I thought I found.
And you put me back together
I need your grace for my flaws,
God I’m broken in this mess I’ve made,
I need you to restore me.
Friends—we are broken people.
With broken hearts, bodies and minds. None of us have it together; can we stop acting like we do?
And if we do happen to notice someone’s weaknesses or mess, may we offer to help, pray for them, and not talk about it to make ourselves feel better.
Gossiping about someone , does nothing. Praying for someone, can change everything.
I have a cup that needs some cleaning, how about you?
Thank you for sharing this awesome story.
Many people struggle with constant gossip that fall from their lips and I pray constantly for these people to realize how much slander hurts not only the people they talk about but most of all, Our loving Lord.
Amie- Amen! May we always try to give others the same grace our Lord gives us.