This remark displays the ignorance of Scripture by whoever said those words, and it also displays the hatred for God that resides in that person’s heart. Let’s explore those two things.

No doubt “the mess” he is referring to is all the corruption, violence, and perversion we see throughout the world. But to attribute this “mess” to God is blasphemy. This “mess” began with ONE MAN (not God) as we see in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as BY ONE MAN SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (KJV). SIN is the source of “the mess” in the world and it was one man; namely Adam, that introduced sin into the world. Perhaps most know the true story of God’s creation of Adam and how he was placed in a “paradise on earth named Eden” (see Genesis 1:26-27 and 2:7-9). Everything was perfect in this idyllic paradise; in other words, there was NO MESS in the world at that time. But then God wanted to test Adam’s obedience to him so He gave him one commandment that we see in Genesis 2:16, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” We know that Adam failed that test, for in Genesis 3:6 we read of his wife giving him some of that fruit and “he ate.” This was the beginning of SIN and DEATH, for Adam died spiritually (Ephesians 2:1) the moment he ate of the forbidden fruit, and he eventually died physically (Genesis 5:5).

His sin was passed on to all mankind as we read in Romans 5:19, “For as BY ONE MAN’S DISOBEDIENCE MANY WERE MADE SINNERS.” Everyone born into the world has SIN dwelling them (Psalm 51:5 with Romans 7:17, 20) and this “sin nature” has caused “the mess” that we see in the world. This “mess” was so bad that “the earth was filled with violence…and indeed it was corrupt” (Genesis 6:11:12), so God decided to destroy the earth with the exception of Noah and his family (verses 9, 13-18). After the flood the world eventually became corrupt and violent once again, because men were still sinners who hated God and rebelled against Him. Romans 8:5-8 reveals this hatred for God: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…. for to be carnally minded is death…. Because the carnal mind is ENMITY AGAINST GOD; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh CANNOT PLEASE HIM.” These passages would be a fitting response to the one who made that awful remark. If he/she seems open to learning more, you could then teach them the scriptures which bring out the love of God in providing salvation for lost and guilty sinners “who have made such a mess in this world.” I would read the following verses to him:

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loves us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (sacrifice) for our sins…..For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (1 John 4:9-10 and John 3:16). We see in these verses that “God did NOT sacrifice Himself to Himself for the mess He had made, but that “God sacrificed His Son FOR THE MESS WE HAD MADE so we could be given eternal life!” We can only pray that he would then see how utterly mistaken he was in attributing the mess we see in the world to God, and that he would then go on to humble himself before God in true REPENTANCE, owing himself as the sinner that he is (Luke 18:13). If he would, then his heart would be prepared to look at Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and he would see that Christ was “bearing His sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24), by believing on Him as his Savior (John 3:14-16). May God give you the liberty to share this if the opportunity presents itself and may the Spirit of God work in this person’s heart to bring him to “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).  (DO)  (708.1)