Our next proverb may seem to apply only to farmers. “Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.” (Proverbs 14:4, NLT) Barns stay really clean when there are no animals in them. But in that age, oxen were more than food; they were the tractors that pulled the plows and wagons.
Few keep oxen for real farm work anymore. So, what is the point of this proverb? Messes mean the potential for progress and harvest. This is true in the home, workplace, and the church. I don’t mean intentional messes for the sake of messes. But the natural messes of life.
When the grandkids come over, the house gets messy. Toys are scattered, food crumbs hit the floor, noise increases, and things are generally out of sorts. I love every minute. If there are no children, a home stays cleaner, but children are vessels into which parents pour their lives. Messes are to be expected.
A thriving workplace is constantly in motion. Messes are made in the work. Paper stacked, computer files generated, machines torn apart and reassembled. The kinds of messes vary, but they are there from the executive suite to the shop floor. The same principle is there. If things don’t get messy at times, is the business really thriving?
Church messes are a different kind of mess, but they are also a sign of vitality. People in various stages of Christlikeness and maturity can easily rub others the wrong way. Messes reveal places where spiritual growth is needed – and that is a good thing. But it is also important that we bear with one another. “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3, CSB)
Now, messes aren’t meant to stay. The barn does get cleaned up. The toys are put away. The house is cleaned. The mess at work gathered. The church, through forgiveness and love, restored to its function.
If we strive to prevent messes, we miss out on the growth that follows. Things become static, sterile, boring, and lifeless. That applies to us as well. Our internal messes are shouting about something we need to pay attention to. It could be our sinful nature rising to the top. Frustration could be God trying to get our attention to change our direction or attitude. The point of life is not to keep our ducks in a row, but to grow in Christ. Sometimes, perhaps more often than we’ll admit. It was in the messy times that we grew the most.
- Romans Applied – Prevailing Grace - June 3, 2026
- Proverbs – Grandkids - June 1, 2026
- Romans Applied – Abundant Grace - May 27, 2026
