[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":89},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess-surround":78},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":60,"date":61,"description":16,"extension":62,"image":63,"meta":64,"minRead":65,"navigation":66,"path":67,"postType":68,"publication":69,"publicationUrl":63,"seo":70,"stem":71,"topics":72,"__hash__":77},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess.md","Someone Else's Mess",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Psalms",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":56},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50,53],[14,15,16],"p",{},"No one likes to clean up a mess someone else made.",[14,18,19],{},"Your son tracked mud on the living room carpet before he left for the evening with his friends, and you have to clean it up before guests arrive.",[14,21,22],{},"A reckless driver left muddy ruts in your front lawn that you will have to repair.",[14,24,25],{},"Everyone went home after the church fellowship dinner leaving you to wash the dishes and put away the chairs.",[14,27,28],{},"Your coworker left a project unfinished and went on vacation leaving you to do the work.",[14,30,31],{},"The previous user at the gym left the workout equipment a sweaty mess.",[14,33,34],{},"The minister made mistakes in judgment and moved to another congregation leaving others to pick up the pieces after he was gone.",[14,36,37],{},"Rowdy college students held an all-night party, scattering beer cans around the neighborhood for others to clean up.",[14,39,40],{},"Your grandchildren melted your heart with sweet words and warm hugs, but left the kitchen floor sticky and the living room cluttered with toys.",[14,42,43],{},"No one wants to clean up someone else's mess. It's patently unfair. \"You broke it, you bought it\"—isn't that the way it's supposed to work? Where's the justice in \"someone else broke it, now you have to fix it\"?",[14,45,46],{},"Leaders in biblical times often had to accept responsibility for fixing problems that were not of their own making. By the time Moses climbed down from Mt. Sinai, his people were already breaking the commandments by worshiping a golden calf, leaving him a spiritual mess to clean up. The Lord called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which were torn down years before because of a previous generation's unfaithfulness. David complained in Psalm 69:4, \"I am forced to restore what I did not steal.\" Why should he be left holding the bag for a crime he didn't commit?",[14,48,49],{},"No one likes to clean up someone else's mess. And yet, people make that tough choice every day because of love. A mother mops up her two-year-old's careless spills. A civic-minded government leader rolls up his sleeves and tackles a problem he didn't create. A servant-hearted volunteer stays late and cleans up the church fellowship hall. Neighbors pick up the litter others scattered on their street. A church's elders steadily shepherd their congregation through the inevitable ups and downs.",[14,51,52],{},"Life is filled with messes, so I thank the Lord for unselfish souls who make the loving, courageous choice to step into messy situations and do their best to help. A disciple of Christ makes that tough decision every time he chooses to serve others instead of promoting himself.",[14,54,55],{},"No one wants to clean up someone else's mess. I'm sure glad Jesus was willing to clean up mine.",{"title":57,"searchDepth":58,"depth":58,"links":59},"",2,[],"First Look","2008-06-08","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess",[73,74,75,76],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Discipleship","Intergenerational Ministry","x3F4aLbVvTwZli86Ip9B8IBqHnS0uWSpbXbL6PCpmEI",[79,84],{"title":80,"path":81,"stem":82,"description":83,"children":-1},"Some Things I Remember","\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember","articles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember","With advancing age comes an abundance of memories—if only we could recall all of them!",{"title":85,"path":86,"stem":87,"description":88,"children":-1},"Something About Yesterday","\u002Farticles\u002Fsomething-about-yesterday","articles\u002Fsomething-about-yesterday","I have been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. Who wouldn't like a sport that features colorful nicknames like Dizzy, Tug, Lefty, Boog, Babe, and Charlie Hustle? Don't hot dogs always taste better at the ballpark on a summer evening? Doesn't every fan want to catch a foul ball and cheer the winning home run?",1790466177531]