Did you read the instructions?
As some of our young people graduate and look to what happens next in their lives, I find myself looking back at my own school years and suddenly asking a lot of questions. But one of the biggest ones I find applies to not just church life, but most of life in general.
You see, the other night, I mentioned to my dad that my blinker was doing something weird. It was clicking at double the usual pace. Turns out that means (on a Ford anyway) that one of your turn signal lights is out. As the internet people say… today I learned. And my loving father asks me why I hadn’t looked it up in the manual that came with my car. Because I have all the manuals that came with my car. All of them. There’s more than one.
And I suddenly felt the guilt of every time I pointed to the sign I had in my office at Walmart. One of the three things it said was “Did you read the instructions?”. So often the answers we are searching for are out there, if only we know how or where to look for them.
At some point in my school years, I think probably in middle school, we were given a pop quiz and the first instruction said to carefully read all the instructions before you begin. Which, we, as very smart teenagers, did not necessarily do. We wanted to be done first. To be the smartest and the fastest and the most clever. But we had failed before we had even begun. Because the very last instruction said to ignore all instructions save the one that says to write your name on the top of the page. We were made to look a little foolish then so that we might gain in wisdom and insight. Reading the instructions is important. But, is that all there is?
Education is so often lifted up as a way up and out of poverty. One of the biggest differences in whether or not someone will be a success or a failure. And yet… common sense might be more important? It is entirely possible to be full of knowledge, but no wisdom. Which is why it is important to read the instructions.
But which instructions am I talking about? Well, scripture. It cracks me up when certain scriptures are taken out of context and used as inspirational. My favorite example is the one from Joshua- as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Out of context, a beautiful sentiment. In context, why would you take the thinly veiled threat of a man who just killed a family for breaking the rules without mercy or grace or any opportunity for redemption as your motto for your throw pillow? But it’s hardly the only one. Even the golden rule leaves out the first part of the scriptures. Yes, love your neighbor as yourself becomes treat others as you would want to be treated in an interfaith context, but it is absolutely missing the part where Jesus says to love God first and that all of the laws and the prophets can be put into one of these two categories. Either a law from God will direct you towards God or will instruct you on how to treat others with righteousness, a surprisingly narrow path to tread.
Before I ramble on too far, knowledge can be power. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. So how do we take any knowledge we do have, any wisdom gained from experience, and clarity we have from common sense and use it to help others? What is the purpose in gaining knowledge if not to better serve God and God’s people? Learning is fun, but learning just to learn often leaves one disconnected from the material and uninvested in its worth.
Circling all the way back to the manuals for my car… I have excuses. I know why I didn’t turn there first. One, it’s a Ford. As I jest, the check engine light is supposed to be on. I was not overly concerned about what my turn signal was or was not doing. Two, the manuals do not come with a search function like the internet. If I did not have just the right phrase in mind, there is a decent chance I would not find the answers I sought unless I read the whole manual cover to cover. And who has time for that?
You might recognize some of these excuses. Oh, I know what scripture says. I’m not worried about that. Do you really? If you want to take on a little challenge, write out what you remember from the stories of Jonah, Naaman, and Balaam. Then compare them to scripture. What did you get right? What did you get wrong? What were you missing? And, continuing on the theme from this spring, if you don’t have time for God, when do you have time for anything else? Who or what could be more important than your creator, redeemer, and counselor? This difficult balance between paying the bills and loving the Lord is a relatively new problem, but we still find wisdom in scripture that tells us which is the better portion. May you find the time this week to spend a few minutes with God, with the scriptures, and with the Holy Spirit filling up your soul.
