I am not sure how long a lamp normally lasts, but my wife and I received a lamp almost 35 years ago as a wedding present and it began to flicker, so we decided to purchase a new lamp. I did what anyone would do that has points and a gift card, I ordered it online and it was on my step when I arrived home this afternoon. I brought the box in, opened it to find that the entire lamp was closely wrapped in Styrofoam, and since I had just vacuumed this morning, I decided to keep all the Styrofoam in the box to keep my floor clean. I set aside the instructions that told how to open and put the lamp together, because I had my own plan and idea that would not make a mess.
I broke the first piece of Styrofoam to get the lamp shade out of the box and everything was going according to my plan and I was feeling very good about myself and my plan. It was only moments later that everything got out of control. I decided to dig into the Styrofoam to get the lamp base out of the box and Styrofoam went everywhere. There were big pieces on the floor, little pieces on my sleeves and pants, and pieces of all size on the couch and rug. The only option that I had was to take everything put of the box, put the lamp together and then clean the floor for the second time today.
The lamp went together very quickly, but then came the cleanup. I decided to get the vacuum cleaner and clean myself up first and then the floor. The Styrofoam and static electricity made the task much more difficult that I had planned. I got myself clean and then vacuumed the floor, then I turned around and there was Styrofoam all over the cord of the vacuum. I was getting ready to put the vacuum away and then I saw it, the entire vacuum was covered in Styrofoam, so I had to vacuum the vacuum. I later found Styrofoam in the pocket on my jeans and my hoodie. I got the vacuum out and then vacuumed out my pockets.
We have instructions that God has given us through His Bible, and we cannot ignore them and follow our own plan. When we do, our lives are blow up just like my experience today, but in some cases we must live with the consequences much longer than just a few minutes of clean up with a vacuum. We must read His Word, study His Word and learn His Word. Psalm 119:11-12 states, “I have hidden Your Word in my heart, so that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Jehovah; teach me Your Precepts.” We need to read the instruction and follow them and avoid the issues of making our own plan.