By Deacon Dean Johnson
Why is it so hard to follow simple instructions?
My wife and I went out one Saturday morning to do some shopping. We left very clear instructions for my daughter: Put the clean dishes that are in the dishwasher away, empty the kitchen trash and feed the cat.
A couple of hours later when we got home, there were dishes piled in the sink. Why? Because the dishwasher was still full of clean dishes, the trash was overflowing, and the cat began shredding my leg as soon as I walked in the door – a sure sign that he had not in fact been fed.
It’s not just kids who have trouble following simple instructions. Anyone who has ever worked in management knows all too well that even adults sometimes have difficulty following basic, simple instructions.
This is nothing new, though. People throughout history have always had trouble with basic instructions.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses says to God: “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people…” – meaning that they are willfully disobedient.
While the Book of Exodus was written between the ninth and fifth centuries B.C., many scholars believe the action took place during the 13th century B.C. That’s a long time ago.
God gave Moses 10 basic rules to follow, and when people couldn’t do that, the Book of Deuteronomy outlined 613 laws gleaned from those 10 to be followed. Then Jesus simplified all of that, giving us two – two basic rules: Love God and love one another.
And we still foul things up!
Why? Because many of us are stiff-necked people.
Psychologists say there are reasons for this. Some of us have issues with what is called executive function, which deals with memory, planning and attention span. Others may have a sense of superiority and entitlement that keeps people from following instructions to the letter. For me, I suppose it’s a stew of all the ingredients.
For example, a few years ago, while returning from visiting our son at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., I – for some stubborn reason I cannot remotely recall – wanted to get home without taking the N.J. Turnpike and paying tolls. So I asked for toll-free directions in the GPS. The calm lady-voice started me on our way, but then she asked me to make a turn that would put me on the Turnpike. So I made a turn onto another road. She tried to correct me, but I ignored her. After I had made a number of turns that disregarded her instructions, I began to hear a bit of condescension in her voice, and I could tell that she was getting as annoyed with me as I was with her.
After wandering the wilds of Central Jersey, we made it home, but the cost of the extra gas I consumed was probably more than the tolls I saved. I later realized that had I listened to her the first time, I would have been on the Turnpike for only about a mile before she put me on another toll-free highway.
Much like paying little heed to instructions, whether from bosses, parents or that condescending GPS voice, ignoring God’s instructions as found in His Word and Church tradition will inevitably lead to frustration.
But the thing about us stiff-necked people is that once we acquire our faith, once we grow our faith, once we begin to live our faith, once we begin to rely on our spiritual GPS (God’s Plan: Simple), we will never let it go.
Just as Jeremiah told the Israelites who weren’t following God’s instructions to “mend your ways,” when we got home from shopping that day, I told my daughter to mend her ways. Much like I tell myself every day.
Deacon Dean Johnson serves at Church of the Holy Family, Sewell.
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