Another Fine Mess

“This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into, Stanley?”

Do you remember those words from the Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy era? It seems Stan was always bumbling his way into trouble and dragging poor Oliver with him. Stan and Oliver are out of the spotlight now, but when I read the newspaper or watch the news on TV, I feel like saying to the human race, “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.” Country after country is fraught with military conflict, unrest, poverty, drug traffic, disease, and corruption. We could laugh at Laurel and Hardy’s predicaments, but the chaos we see in our modern world is no laughing matter.

Who is to blame for the current global mess?

Adam and Eve? Not entirely. Their rebellion against God resulted in a cursed earth, a troubled home life, pain, suffering, and death, but according to Romans 5:12, we have all sinned. The human race continues to rebel against God and inflict hatred and misery on one another. The legacy of evil and its consequences will continue until God says, “That’s enough!”

And He will—in a clear, authoritative tone. He will wrest control of our planet, punish evildoers, and inaugurate eternal, peace and well-being for all His children. Someday, an angel will announce, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

When that glorious day arrives, believers from every era of history may spin Oliver Hardy’s words and tell the Lord, “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us out of!”