Daily Walking, Working, and Winning by God's Word by Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr.

Some people may remember the Laurel and Hardy show. If you do, you will remember one of the lines that were repeated over and over, "What a fine mess you have gotten me into." It appears that in life, you encounter mess! Mess is defined as those attitudes, attributes, and/or actions that take you away from the will and way of God. As a result, I say, "Stay Out of Mess."

For the Bible Scholars among us, I will direct you to Psalm 107. In that Psalm, you will discover three universal situations. I describe as a mess.

First is in verses 4 - 5, where the psalmist describes a situation where people are wandering in the desert and run out of food. There is some mess that you did not create. It's when the circumstances of life overtake you, and you find yourself in a mess, not of your own making.

Second is in verse 17, where the psalmist calls people fools because of there sins they create situations that have consequences. "You cannot make a success out of sin." There is some mess that you do create and as a result there is a harvest that you have to reap.

Third is in verses 23 - 26, describes seamen that are businessmen and that thought their actions their business is in ruins. The third mess people encounter is a financial mess. You cannot spend more than you earn. You have to save a portion of what you earn. You need to give a tithe to the Lord. You have to pay your taxes. You have to learn how to live on what is left. By my estimation, you need to learn to live on fifty percent of what you earn. If you violate this principle you are headed for a financial mess.