Slinging Mud

In the physics of our “spinning wheel” analogy, slinging mud is the collateral damage of spiritual friction. When a heart is redlining—generating high RPMs of religious effort or self-inflicted suffering without actually moving forward—the energy doesn’t just disappear. It is converted into “waste heat” (burnout) and “flung mud” (the negative impact on those around us).

Scripturally and spiritually, this “mud” represents the defilement, resentment, and burdens we cast onto others when we are stuck in our own self-performance.

1. The Mud of Legalism (Matthew 23:4, 13)

Jesus provides the most vivid example of “slinging mud” when he critiques the Pharisees. They were experts at religious “spinning”—performing exhaustive rituals to prove their spiritual fitness—but they weren’t moving closer to the heart of God.

• The Physics: Because they were stuck, their energy was spent “slinging” heavy burdens onto the backs of others.
• The Scripture: “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:4).
• The Reality: When we try to “earn” God’s favor through suffering or perfectionism, we often sling that same standard of judgment onto everyone else, making the path harder for them, too.

2. The Mud of Resentment (The “Older Brother” Syndrome)

As we discussed with the Prodigal Son, the older brother was “spinning” in his own field of work. When the father threw a party for the returning son, the older brother’s “spinning” turned into a mess of resentment.

• The Physics: He wasn’t moving toward the joy of the father; he was stationary in his own “righteousness.”
• The Scripture: “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you… But when this son of yours who has squandered your property… comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” (Luke 15:29-30).
• The Reality: His “mud” was the bitterness he slung at the father’s grace. When we think we have “suffered more” than others, we often sling resentment at those who seem to receive blessing “too easily.”

3. The Mud of Hypocrisy (Matthew 7:1-5)

Hypocrisy is perhaps the most common form of “spiritual mud.” It occurs when we focus on the “speck” in someone else’s eye while our own “spinning” creates a cloud of dust and debris.

• The Physics: Trying to “correct” another person’s trajectory while your own wheels are buried in the mud only results in you getting them more dirty.
• The Scripture: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).
• The Reality: We cannot help “mend the nets” of others if we are busy slinging the mud of our own unaddressed issues at them.

4. The Mud of the Tongue (James 3:5-6)

Internal friction—the “waste heat” of a soul that is out of sync with the Spirit—often manifests through speech.

• The Physics: James describes the tongue as a “fire” and a “world of evil.” In our analogy, the tongue is the mechanism that “slings” the internal heat of our heart into the lives of others.
• The Scripture: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire” (James 3:6).
• The Reality: Gossip, slander, and harsh words are often just the “mud” we sling because we are frustrated by our own lack of spiritual momentum.

The Takeaway: Stop the Spin

In his sermon, Davis Potts suggests that we “cut ourselves some slack” when we feel we are just punishing ourselves. The best way to stop “slinging mud” is to take your foot off the accelerator of self-performance.

When you stop the “spin” and wait for the Father to pull you out of the mud, the mess stops. You can then focus on traction—the steady, quiet movement of obedience that keeps the environment clean and the “net” open.

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Reflection Questions: Measuring the Splatter Zone

1. The Standard of Exhaustion (Legalism)

• The “Heavy Loads” Check: Am I currently “splattering” my own high-standard expectations onto the people around me? Do I feel a secret resentment toward others who aren’t as “tired” or “burnt out” as I am, viewing their rest as a lack of devotion?
• The Mirror Test: If someone else were to apply my current “religious rules” to their own life, would it lead them to the peace of Christ or just to the same mud hole I’m in?

2. The Grace Friction (Resentment)

• The Party Invitation: When I see the “fattened calf” being killed for a “Prodigal” (someone who didn’t work as hard or suffer as much as I have), is my first reaction joy or a “high-RPM” spin of bitterness?
• Comparing Trajectories: Am I more focused on the distance someone else has traveled, or on the fact that the Father is the one providing the traction for us both?

3. The Cloud of Debris (Hypocrisy & The Tongue)

• The Visibility Check: Is my “correction” of others actually helping them see the road, or is it just a cloud of dust I’m kicking up to hide the fact that I’m not moving?
• The Temperature of Speech: James says the tongue is a “fire.” When I speak to my family, coworkers, or church, is the “waste heat” of my internal frustration being vented through my words? Am I using my speech to “clean” or to “sling”?

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Lord, the Source of True Traction,

I confess that I have spent too much time with my “foot on the gas,” trying to prove my worth through sheer effort. I acknowledge the mess I’ve made—the burdens I’ve slung onto others and the “waste heat” of my own burnout.

• Kill the Engine: Help me to take my foot off the accelerator of self-performance. I stop the “spin” right now. I admit that I am stuck and that my own power is only making the hole deeper.
• Clean the Splatter: I ask for Your forgiveness for the “mud” I have slung at those around me. Forgive my legalism, my resentment, and my harsh words. Give me the humility to apologize to those I’ve splattered with my own frustration.
• Be My Winch: I wait for You to pull me out. I don’t want to move until Your Hand provides the traction. Replace my “waste heat” with the cool, steady peace of Your Spirit.

Teach me to walk on the “Narrow Path” with a clean heart and a quiet soul, moving only as You move me.

Amen.

Stopping the spin is the hardest part for a “high-performer,” but it’s the only way the mud settles.