By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

Cleaning Up Other Peoples’ Messes

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link

“… give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 New International Version

I had the Saturday morning all planned.  I would do this and this and this and …. then I drove up to the church and encountered someone’s big mess in our main entrance.  However, this devotion is not about people’s irresponsibility or homelessness or social ills.  It’s about our struggle with cleaning up other people’s messes.

Do you spend a lot of time cleaning up other people’s problems?  If you are a parent or a police officer or a teacher or a custodian or a highway worker or an employer or a host of other occupations, you probably do.  And I think we all need to be honest and admit that we perhaps don’t always have the best attitude when we have to do that.

“Give thanks in all circumstances?”  Even when that means cleaning up other people’s messes?  Even when this was not on my schedule for that Saturday morning?  Give thanks?  I can hardly just keep from grumbling and complaining about poor me!

How can I give thanks?  When I have to do someone else’s dirty work?

As a good friend likes to say to me: “Jesus is the Answer, what’s the question? ”  If Jesus died for me, if Jesus cleaned up the mess of my life without complaining or bad attitude, without reward or thanks, maybe, just maybe, I could give thanks as I clean up other people’s messes….  Because the mess of my sin, my ungratefulness, my rebellion against God were all washed away, disposed of on the cross, I can give thanks to God.

Lord Jesus, I confess that it is hard for me to give thanks to you when I am cleaning up other people’s messes.  Thank you that you willingly cleaned up the mess of my life.  Please forgive me for my complaining about others and my ungratefulness toward you for Your good gifts of salvation and mercy for me.  Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado