In my work, I pick up a lot of donations that come in many forms: food, clothing, furniture, and even change cans that have been filled. Securing these items in my truck during transport is of the utmost importance.
On my last trip, however, I did a poor job securing the tower of change cans that were stacked inside milk crates. While driving down a bumpy, curvy, and hilly road, some of the crates containing the change cans spilled. When I arrived at my next stop, there was a mess all over the floor of my truck. I knew the only thing I could do was to start putting the coins back into the overturned cans.
About that time, a wonderful brother in Christ named Mike Adkins came out of the church building and saw the mess I had made. He didn’t laugh at me nor did he point out the obvious and say that I hadn’t done a very good job in securing the cans. He simply joined in and helped me to clean up my mess.
Mike’s actions remind me there are times when we are given the opportunity to help others clean up the mess they have made in their lives. As we seek to help others, maybe it is best that we don’t laugh at them or point out the obvious mistakes they have made. Maybe it would just be best to get busy and help them.
If we will do this, then the door for instructing them may come afterwards (Galatians 6:1,2). My thanks go to Mike for his help and for his reminder that it is sometimes better just to get busy helping others rather than pointing out the errors of their ways.
