Who Needs Directions?
All Scripture is [h]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16,17 (NLT)
Shortly after finishing our basement, I went out and bought some bookshelves and a little end table to go with our furniture down there. Unfortunately, these weren’t “ready to go” items. They came in boxes and had to be put together.
Now, I am a directions guy, so I pulled out the directions and carefully followed them. Quickly and efficiently those bookshelves came together .
When it came time to put the little end table together, I figured, “Who needs directions? I just put these big bookshelves together, I can throw this end table together no problem. It’s smaller. It has less parts. This will be a piece of cake!"
An hour of frustration, annoyance, and loss of sanctification later, that stupid little end table was still NOT together.
I was literally at the end of my rope with this thing when my then eight year-old son, Kyle, came bounding down the stairs and happily asked, “Can I help you Dad?”
I can't tell you exactly what I said, but I believe it included, “Go away…or die!” (Today, nine years later, whenever I am trying to put something together, my son doesn’t want to help me. Strange, I know.)
Anyway, after Kyle fled for his life, I grabbed the dumb directions and put that end table together in less than fifteen minutes.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. I can avoid many problems, frustrations, anger issues, and wasted time if I just follow the directions.
Life is the same way.
God has an owner’s manual right here--called the Bible. In it, God provides directions for life.
But like my pride got in the way of putting that end table together with the directions, so our pride gets in the way of following God’s plan, of living by God’s owner’s manual.
Don't make that mistake. Invest in that manual and read it daily.
