I’ve done it plenty of times. Maybe it’s a “man thing.” I have purchased that item requiring assembly and laid the printed instructions aside thinking, “I can do this on my own.” After a lack of mechanical skills result in frustration, I consult the source that I should have gone to in the first place — the instructions.
The lesson that such experiences teach us I sometimes see applied to the Bible thusly: “When all else fails, read the instructions.” I suppose that such is said with good intentions, but life is more important than putting together a bicycle. It is, however, Satan’s message to humanity that we can make it on our own, we can chart our own course or we can build our own life. God and his Word, then, become an emergency measure for those who fail.
In this same vein, Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said, “I have been driven to my knees many times in the full real realization that I had no place else to go.” These words are true to life, but is that what religion becomes to us? Is the Bible only for those who have tried all that the world offers and failed? Is prayer reserved for those who have no place else to go? Is salvation a last resort for those who are scared at the prospect of eminent death? No. If we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, then we will give him first place. Then, we will not waste our lives in futile pursuits before we enjoy the benefits of God, his Word, salvation and prayer!
