A Hot Mess: A Different Perspective

In my last post, A Hot Mess, I explained how making coffee when the top is still on the travel mug is a bad idea. Today, I would like to revisit that same mess that was made but from a different outlook. 

This week, I thought about how that cup represents people today. I have several coffee cups and travel mugs, but I tend to use the same ones most of the time. My favorite travel mug has pictures of my wife and grandkids. My favorite cups to use at home are from Spain and France. While I do not use these exclusively, I use them more than the rest. 

Every morning I drink coffee on the way to work. All of the travel mugs I use have lids, and all hold at least 12 ounces of coffee. More than anything, the cup is a tool used for a fundamental purpose. That is if you believe holding coffee so I can drink it is important. However, coffee mugs do not serve their purpose until there is coffee poured into them. 

We may not realize that we all serve a purpose, but we do. Some of us may not even know what that purpose is yet. Some of us overthink our mission and get frustrated when we don’t come up with a purpose that seems important to us. Your purpose may not be as crucial to you as it is to others.  Some reasons for being here may be to help others, to cause some to laugh or enjoy life, or to make this world a better place.  There are many reasons to live. Like the coffee mug, we just need to be there ready to be put to use. 

Part of being a useful mug is to be empty until it is time to be used. No one wants to pour coffee into a mug that is filled with something else. Can you imagine a mug being filled with oil and then you add coffee to it before drinking? Yuck. That would be a problem.

The same is true of us. Sometimes we are filled and cannot be put to our proper use. We may have allowed ourselves to be filled with things like bitterness, anger, hatred, selfishness, or jealousy. It is hard to be useful when you are already full. 

Now, I would never allow oil to be poured into my coffee mugs. The same is true of my life. I need to make sure I don’t let things into my life that render me useless. I need to fill my life with things that can help me serve my purpose.  Things like love, joy, kindness, goodness, and self-control need to be poured into my life so I can do things like helping others or whatever. 

Everyone seems to take their coffee in different ways. Some people like cream and sugar. Some like it black. Some like it with more milk than coffee. My coffee cup needs to be filled with what will serve my preferred taste. 

I know a successful businessman who once said he would prefer to hire someone off the street with no college education that he could train himself. The college graduates came in with preconceived ideas, thinking they knew everything already and were not open to the ideas that were already working for the company. Those graduates were like cups that were full but did not serve the preferred purpose of the company. 

It is better to be an empty vessel that can be filled with what is useful to this life. 

2 Timothy 2:20-21(CSB)

“Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable use and some for dishonorable. So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

                               

A Hot Mess

Some mornings don’t start in the desired fashion. I am a person who likes routine. I do the same thing the same way every morning on workdays. I have found that if I deviate from that routine, the chance of me forgetting to do something dramatically increases. There was a substantial deviation from my routine yesterday. Fortunately, I did not forget anything. However, it did cost me some extra time before leaving the house.

Part of my routine after leaving my room in the morning is to get my coffee brewing and then start getting dressed in the next room. When I return to the kitchen, I add my creamer to my coffee and continue with the rest of my routine.  This was the place when my routine came apart.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw brown liquid covering a large portion of my counter next to my coffee maker. My first thought was that the cup was too small for the selected portion. I thought it overflowed. When I removed my travel mug, it was light, as if it was empty. That is because it had no coffee in it, at all.

It did not take long to discover the problem. The top of the travel mug was still on the top of my cup. An unfortunate mistake made a big mess.

There are various ways that people would handle this problem. Some people would blame the cup for having a top in the first place. While this makes no sense to most of us, we probably know someone like this. Some people refuse to admit that they have any responsibility for the problems. I have discovered that I usually have at least some faults in the mess with which I find myself.

Others would cry about the mess, but not do anything.

about the problem. They would even tell friends about their unfortunate situation so they could cry together. There is nothing wrong with crying. It just does not solve anything. After the tears have fallen, you still have a mess. Some people would prefer to cry until someone else cleans the mess for them. Even if someone else does clean your mess, you still have not learned to handle messy situations. We all know that one messy situation will not be the only one we have.

Some will see the mess and pretend it did not happen. This also does not fix the situation. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away. When you return to the scene, it is still there. Most of the time, the issue has become worse because of the neglect.

My choice for yesterday's mess seemed like a no-brainer, though I know many who would have chosen the other options. I cleaned the mess. Paper towels and wet rags were readily available, so I used them. I may not be the best at cleaning, but I must have done a decent job because my wife did not complain about sticky counters.

We should take after Jesus when it comes to fixing problems. When people were hungry, he did not ignore them. He handled the issue and fed over 4 thousand people once and over five thousand another time. He also taught those around him not to wait for others to solve the problem but to deal with it like in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The problem may not be your fault, but if there is a problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just solve the problem, teach others to solve problems.

Everyone has problems. Some problems are more significant than others. Some cannot be handled alone. Get help. Know that you are not alone. Most of all, trust God to get you through.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)

When Did Americans start hating freedom?

When did the people in the United States start hating freedom? I thought this country fought wars so that we could be free. I thought we went to war on behalf of others so they could also be free. Yet, every time someone uses their freedom to do or say what they want, they are quickly opposed to their right to say or do it.

The problem is we want our freedom. We just do not want those with whom we disagree to have it. Addidas, Ben & Jerry’s, Chick-fil-A, The NFL, and Nike have all been part of “boycotts” in the last few years because people do not like them exercising their freedoms. Now, you have the right to boycott. I’m not taking that away from you. I just hope your liberty to express yourself is not taken away.

We seem to be self-righteous. Our way is not only better than your way. It should be the only way. It is the best way. We may not say those words, but our actions scream them.

We call others weak because they are offended. We tell others to toughen up and get over themselves. Yet, we get angry when others express a different opinion. When people say we get offended, we deny it because that places the blame on us. We say, “I’m not offended, I am just standing up for what is right.”

An offense is defined as annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one's standards or principles. That sums up almost everyone I have ever spoken to who says they are not offended.

I do not agree with many things people say or do. I have chosen not to boycott or break ties with them. Last time I checked, the Bible speaks many times about unity, forgiveness, and love. Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 Peter 3:8) How does separating ourselves from people or even companies with whom we disagree display any of those principles? Separation does not show unity. Continually criticizing others does not demonstrate forgiveness. Hoping a person is fired and never works again does not display love.

II have a Christian friend of mine who had a Muslim open a business near his church. Most people could see that there is a different perception in the way these two men would think. My friend did not have his congregation boycott the business for his beliefs. He went to the man and asked if he could pray for the man’s business to be successful.

That is how we should be. I do not have to agree with everything you believe, but I should hope and pray for your success, not your ideas, but your business and your well-being. We should desire and pray for the best to happen to people. I think many of us believe that God cares more for values rather than people, but Jesus died for the people. He told them not to sin anymore, but he gave his life because he loved the people.

Yes, I am an American, but primarily, I am a follower of Christ. I believe in unity. I think that Christians should be in full accord and of one mind. (Philippians 2:2)

However, not all Americans are Christians. That is their prerogative. We do not have to be of one mind with everyone else. Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. (Luke 11:17). I do not want the church to fall, but I also do not want the United States to collapse. We need to put aside our differences and pray for each other to succeed.