--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we attempt to clear up the mess…" description: "\"“When we attempt to clear up the mess others have made, or when we love the unlovely, we demonstrate the kind of weirdness God likes. We give the lie t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/ann-benton-219686_elderly_when-we-attempt-to-clear-up-the-mess-oth_918659.jpg" --- # When we attempt to clear up the mess others have made, or… ![“When we attempt to clear up the mess others have made, or when we love the unlovely, we demonstrate the kind of weirdness God likes. We give the lie to the evolutionary survival of the fittest maxim...” quote by Ann Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/ann-benton-219686_elderly_when-we-attempt-to-clear-up-the-mess-oth_918659.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/ann-benton-219686_elderly_when-we-attempt-to-clear-up-the-mess-oth_918659.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/ann-benton-219686_elderly_when-we-attempt-to-clear-up-the-mess-oth_918659.jpg) > ““When we attempt to clear up the mess others have made, or when we love the unlovely, we demonstrate the kind of weirdness God likes. We give the lie to the evolutionary survival of the fittest maxim...”” [Ann Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-benton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to tidy others’ chaos or loving the unattractive shows a divine appreciation for oddness, challenging the “survival of the fittest” narrative. **In simple terms:** Loving the odd defies evolutionary logic. Key Takeaway Celebrate unconventional love and purpose. Themes divine love oddness evolution survival compassion purpose Mood thoughtful hopeful Type Elderly:0 Religious:1 Service:1 Survival of the fittest:0 Value of life:1 Weirdness:1 Mess Love:1 Weirdness God:1 Unlovely Demonstrate:0 Lie Evolutionary:0 When to use this quote - community service - personal relationships - artistic expression Key Concepts theology philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - Why do we fear the unlovely? - How can oddness be divine? A Different Perspective Idealism may clash with practical survival. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) [Lie Evolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie-evolutionary-1403836/) [Mess Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess-love-573145/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Survival of the fittest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-of-the-fittest/) [Unlovely Demonstrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlovely-demonstrate-1403835/) [Value of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-life/) [Weirdness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weirdness/) [Weirdness God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weirdness-god-1403834/) ## Related quotes > [The reason I love is that you make me better person,person I wanna be.even in those times when I know u r gonna betray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samar-siddique/the-reason-i-love-is-that-you-make-me-better-person-person-i-wanna-be/) [Samar Siddique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samar-siddique/) > [All this mess, for nothing. all this love, a lie. All this world for anyone who can appreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b/all-this-mess-for-nothing-all-this-love-a-lie-all-this-world-for/) [B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b/) > [My sister is a mess. I love her to death, but she is a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rj-mitte/my-sister-is-a-mess-i-love-her-to-death-but-she-is-a-mess/) [RJ Mitte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rj-mitte/) > [When you mess with someone's love or family, you don't want to be on the other side of the woman's wrath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-rae/when-you-mess-with-someone-s-love-or-family-you-don-t-want-to-be-on/) [Summer Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-rae/) > [All my imperfections, all my flaws, all my weaknesses. Every scar, every number, every mess up. Why do you love me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/all-my-imperfections-all-my-flaws-all-my-weaknesses-every-scar-every/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [What are your mess \| If you love me \| good sense of humor,\| but I do not like jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-are-your-mess-if-you-love-me-good-sense-of-humor-but-i-do-not/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [You mess around with love, Then when your serious love plays around with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emely-tavarez/you-mess-around-with-love-then-when-your-serious-love-plays-around/) [Emely Tavarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emely-tavarez/) > [You Was Better Than The Rest Truth Be Told You A Mess Who Love To Play Games Rollercoasting With My Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trina/you-was-better-than-the-rest-truth-be-told-you-a-mess-who-love-to/) [Trina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trina/) > [“I’m a screwed up mess that no one can ever love, not really. Why did I ever let myself hope I could find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apryl-baker/i-m-a-screwed-up-mess-that-no-one-can-ever-love-not-really-why-did-i/) [Apryl Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apryl-baker/) > [You're a mess,but I still love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-a-mess-but-i-still-love-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the letter he left for the coroner he had explained his reasoning (for suicide): that life is a gift bestowed without anyone asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-the-letter-he-left-for-the-coroner-he-had-explained-his-reasoning/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [ “For all of \[Fanny\] Ardant’s ability to depict a range of emotion, I most associate her with joy. Not necessarily the depiction of joy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-lasalle/for-all-of-fanny-ardant-s-ability-to-depict-a-range-of-emotion-i-most/) [Mick LaSalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-lasalle/) > [Life & Time Are The Worlds Best Teachers. Life Teaches Us The Use Of Time & Time Teaches Us The Value Of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-time-are-the-worlds-best-teachers-life-teaches-us-the-use-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/the-value-of-life-does-not-depend-upon-the-place-we-occupy-it-depends/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Elderly quotes > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/the-elderly-have-so-much-to-offer-they-re-our-link-with-history/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [The investment in our mining industry has been very positive for Australia but we need to be doing more if we want, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/the-investment-in-our-mining-industry-has-been-very-positive-for/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [“The young man pities his elders, fearing the day he, too, will join their ranks. 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When I came into office, there were 14 million Ugandans, today there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoweri-museveni/our-population-is-growing-rapidly-because-of-our-good-health-policy/) [Yoweri Museveni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoweri-museveni/) [Browse all 446 Elderly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When we attempt to clear up the mess others have made, or when we love the unlovely, we demonstrate the kind of weirdness God likes. 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