Instruction Manuals

I hate instruction manuals with a passion. I will do anything that is within my power to avoid reading them at all costs. In fact, when I think about it, I don't think I've ever fully read one instruction manual all the way through. In school, I always mess up on exams because I fail to read the question or instructions thoroughly. I'm going to make a list of things that I've never fully learned how to properly use just to give you an idea of how bad I am at this!

1. My Macbook (might as well start close to home - I prefer to ask my techno savy friends)

2. My Insulin Pump for my diabetes (a little closer to home)

3. How to make coffee on the side of the Folgers container

4. How to use my phone (I prefer to learn by doing)

5. Also, I avoid syllabuses at all costs (lets hope none of my Professors are reading this!)

ok, those are just 5 things that I never fully learned how to use. I prefer to learn by doing or better yet, find a friend who knows the ropes who can explain it to me. I've always been one for direct interaction - give me an owner's manual or instruction booklet and you lose me. In fact, 9 times out of 10, I'll just throw them out.

Thinking about this brought me to a certain realization yesterday. Again, I was in the middle of reading Jeanie Mayo's book, Uncensored (which is kind of an instruction manual but thankfully she doesn't advertise it like that, or else I probably wouldn't have even picked it up). Jeanie says that it's stupid to throw out an instruction manual and insist on running something your own way. Her reasons for this are as follows:

1. The manufacturer knows the best way to get the most positive results out of his product

2. The manufacturer made it, so he's the expert on how it runs best!

-then I added my own...

3. You can run something for a while but if you don't know the details as to how it works, you might not get the full potential out of it

4. Something might run for a while on "your terms", but it won't last as long or operate the best for the long haul

I came to the realization that this struggle has followed me and kept me captive my whole life. I always want to do things my own way, usually because I'm lazy and I hate reading directions. In my walk with the Lord, I'd rather sit and listen to someone tell me what the Bible says than sit down and spend a while reading it myself. This has danger written all over it. I believe that we're a generation that prioritizes ease over accuracy. It's easier to go and listen to a Pastor preach or Erwin McManus on a podcast instead of spending over an hour in the word. Then I realized... the Bible is our instruction manual to the Christian walk. If we don't spend time reading God's directions, we won't be able to run the way he intended us to. Just like my Macbook (that has one two many scratches because I failed to buy a case and clean it right), we as Christians can get messed up quick if we don't rely on God's ownership manual.

So since I know that I'm building my future TODAY, today is the day I start reading instruction manuals and spending more time in God's manual; after all, if I gave him my life, shouldn't I trust that he knows how to run it better than I do?