“Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.”
I’ve talked about being messy mortals. Rick Riordan wrote about messy immortals: “Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is remind each other that we’re related, for better or for worse… and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.” Obviously, he had a pretty strong opinion about the condition of families. All of us have a family story somewhere along our journey. Every single person had parents, regardless of their current situation. Some families were messier than others. With effort, love, forgiveness, and kindness, all of us have the opportunity to enjoy—and even celebrate—some aspect of family. It can be hard. Solomon lets us know that business and family—actually, all of life—give us the opportunity to avoid the messiness of relationships to some extent. However, he makes it clear that with order and a lack of chaos come loneliness and isolation. It also comes with less productivity. In business, we cannot accomplish nearly as much alone as we can with a team. In farming, we are severely limited and in danger of failure if we try to do it alone. In God’s kingdom, very little ministry happens if we stay isolated and hide from others. My house is incredibly clean right after my housekeeper leaves. It could stay that way until she comes back the next month. But that will never happen because I want my children and grandchildren to come over and hang out often. I want friends stopping by to visit. God designed us knowing we tend to be messy immortals. That’s okay. It’s how we learn and grow. Today, embrace the chaos and the mess. #BeTheEdge
“If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NIV)
