promising mess

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox." - Proverbs 14:4 (ESV)

"Orderliness can reach the point of sterility. This proverb is not a plea for slovenliness, physical or moral, but for the readiness to accept upheaval, and a mess to clear up, as the price for growth. It has many applications to personal, institutional and spiritual life, and could well be inscribed in the minute-books of religious bodies, to foster a farmer's outlook, rather than a curator's." - Derek Kidner, Proverbs, 106.

Anyone who's seen my desk will immediately understand why this proverb resonates with me. In all seriousness though, it's a good reminder that sometimes disorder is evidence of God at work in our lives and churches. Of course sometimes disorder is simply evidence of disorder. The key is learning to look beneath the surface to see what God is up to. Anyone who's ever been in a manger knows that the "mess" an ox leaves behind doesn't look or smell pleasant, but it is evidence that there is a strong animal plowing fields to make them fertile. May we never despise the holy mess of God in our lives.