Following the Directions

So yesterday at work we got in a shipment of lockers for our shop. We had been waiting for these for about a year now and finally got them!

So we go to put together the first set. Whenever I put together furniture or anything else, I always read the instructions (gasp, a guy reading instructions???). Well, in the process of putting together the first of these lockers, 4 guys (myself included) jumped right in, someone grabbed the instructions and briefly looked through them and then started to put together the locker.

Step one was to attach one (and only one) side to the back, then do the shelves, then the other side. Well, try to get 4 guys to do that one step at a time. Being the instruction following person that I am I tried to do it just like the instructions say… but I think I was the only one following the directions. Well, while a bunch of guys started to jump in, it didn’t take long before we had to undo what we had done, in order to do it correctly. (I will admit that this first mistake was my fault….). So the amount of time that we saved by jumping in and just going at it, was lost because we had to undo what we did and do it the correct way. If we had not done this, then the locker would not have been able to be put together properly.

So, frustrated by the loss in time, everyone picks up the pace a little. Before we had one side fully put on, both sides were partially attached (someone working on each one) and the shelves where all put in place. Then, we noticed why we were only supposed to attach one side. You attach one side and attach the shelves to it so that when you go to put the back screws on, the other side panel was not attached so you could easily hold the screw with one hand while putting the nut on the inside with the other hand. Well, with both sides attached, what was an easy one person job just became a two person job, with one person trying to reach inside the cramped dark locker.

So by avoiding the instructions, we had to undo what we did, and had to required two people for a single task instead of one person.

Isn’t this how life is with our instruction book, the Bible? As long as we are following what the Bible says, things seem to go easier, but when we rush through our day without referencing our instruction manual we end up having to redo things, or get set back in our personal or spiritual life. Often times not following God’s Word requires us to seek assistance from others to overcome our mistakes and to walk closer to the instruction manual.

God gave us the Bible for a reason, shouldn’t we read it and follow it on a daily basis?