Mr. Tangles Will Untangle Our Tangled Messes

 

I enjoyed listening to two DJ's bantering on the K-Love contemporary Christian music radio station. One of the DJs said he was creating a character to go along with the "Mr. Tangles" store he wants to open. The character would be Mr. Tangles and the store would have a drive-thru window where you'd give them your tangled messes, like a fishing line, a tangled necklace, or a tangled rope. In a few, short minutes, you'd pick up your untangled item. Genius. Okay, he was kidding, but it was an amusing and comical verbal exchange.

Immediately, I had the visual of tangled messes we get ourselves into. Remember the quote, "Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." That quote refers to how complicated life becomes when people start lying and cheating.

Case in point: Remember a year ago this month when Full House sitcom star, Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannuli, were charged with a fraud scheme designed to ensure spots for their daughters at the University of Southern California? They paid $500,000 in bribes to have their two daughters admitted into USC as fake rowing-team recruits. Their guilty plea required Loughlin to pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service and her husband to pay a $250,000 fine and complete 250 hours of community service, besides a few months prison time. Loughlin confessed to the judge: "I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college admissions process, and in doing so, I ignored my intuition and allowed myself to be swayed from my moral compass. The realization weighs heavily on me, and I am taking responsibility. I have great faith in God, and I believe in redemption. And I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and use this experience as a catalyst to do good and give back for the rest of my life. Your Honor, I’m truly, deeply and profoundly sorry, and I’m ready to accept the consequences and make amends."

When news broke about Loughlin's involvement in the college scandal, the actress was dropped from all her major projects, including the fifth and final season of the Full House Netflix reboot, Fuller House, and Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart. Oh, the tangled messes we can get ourselves into – good reputations damaged, prison records, friendships lost, wasted time and finances, and personal feelings of defeat and sorrow -- no matter what was said or did in the smallest way or in serious illegal ways. Lying, deceiving, inappropriate conduct, gossiping, stealing, unforgiveness -- all those traits that perpetuate dishonesty, misunderstanding, and mistrust.

As I read my devotion yesterday, this was the scripture reading. It put an exclamation point on this blog! This is how we avoid tangled messes from Psalm 15:

"Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; by whom the reprobate is despised, whiel he honors those who fear the Lord. Who lends not his money at usury and accepts no bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things shall never be disturbed."

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."