All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

The Message

We just began a new series called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. This week we discussed Following the Instructions. The following weeks’ messages consists of Don’t Spoil Your Dinner, Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Road, Don’t Talk to Strangers and Take a Nap.

Follow the Instructions

In Kindergarten one of the most important rules our teachers taught us was follow the instructions or rules. Our Kindergarten teacher stressed this rule because it is the foundations to following all the other rules. If you think about it you find that this rule is vitally important to our lives today, not just in kindergarten. First of all, instructions make life less difficult. If you’ve ever tried to build a model car or Legos helicopter you discover the importance of the instruction manual. Trying to put a model car, Legos, table or some other object together by your own intuition only leads to confusion and frustration.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was robbed at gunpoint at his dry cleaning business. Two men barged into his shop, stuck a gun in his face, and told him to give him everything he owned. When the men had left he called the police and placed a search for the arrest of the two robbers. Although, these men escaped and my friend’ s money was stolen from him the outcome could have been worst if there were no rules.

If there were no rules we would live in anarchy. Anyone could do whatever they wanted to without being penalized. This may seem appealing at first thought: “No rules!? I can do whatever I want!” This couldn’t be any further from the truth. Rules actually give us freedom. They protect us from others taking what is ours. They give us boundaries and order which gives us freedom to do more rather than running straight off a cliff.

God’s Word is big on following instructions. One of the main themes of the book of Proverbs is following instruction: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight. Heed your fathers advice. Listen to instruction and in the end you will be wise. Listen and pay attention to instruction.”

We know that instructions are here to benefit us and it is important to follow them but sometimes it is extremely difficult to follow them. Why is this?

First of all, life is complex. Life is not always black and white like we may think. It is actually pretty grey sometimes. This makes it difficult to make a decision. Because we cannot see the outcome of following the instructions we hesitate in following through with them.

Secondly, we have our own agendas. About a month ago I had just finished my swim workout at UNF and was on my way to my car when my brother drove by laughing at me: “Look at your car Ryan (with a smirk on his face).” It couldn’t be? Surely not? A few more steps and then a turn to the left and there was my car imprisoned by the yellow boot. “But I had a parking decal!” I yelled out. I looked at the dash board and there it was, my parking decal slightly covered by another piece of paper. In fury, I immediately called the UNF parking department and in anger chewed them out for giving me a boot when I had a parking decal. The young man I talked to kind of smarted off and said that I had four unpaid tickets so I would have received a boot anyways. I in turn smarted off, “I’m coming to prove to you I have a decal. I’m going to take you down buddy!” I marched one mile to the parking department office and burst through the doors to find the high tone voice I spoke to over the phone. I went to the first window open and there sat a guy that appeared about 6’1” sitting down but when he stood up he was actually about 6’4” and stacked (short chairs can be deceiving). I soon became humble and said very gently “Are you the guy I just talked to about the boot?” “Yes” he replied. In fear I thought to myself, “Man your voice is deceiving.” Moral of the story, follow the instructions and never pick a fight without knowing who you are fighting.

Was it the UNF parking department’s fault or mine that I received a boot? I may say that they are too strict and I shouldn’t have received a boot but it was my fault. I disobeyed the instructions. If you think about it, I actually took someone’ s parking space that they paid for. I wouldn’t want someone taking my spot that I paid for, so rules are for our benefit.

Another reason instructions are difficult to follow is because it takes patience in following them. Doesn’t it seem easier sometimes to just skip the directions so you can finish more quickly. This is deceiving—shortcutting only leads to added time.

Finally, following the instructions feels like you are losing while the rest of the world is winning—“My friends have all the beautiful girlfriends. They always have so much fun going to their movies, talking on MySpace. They get to go out whenever to whatever. They have so much fun at parties. They all talk at school about their new boyfriends…”

How do we learn to follow instructions? We first must find the instructions. God has given us his instruction manual for our lives—the Bible. Once we have the instructions we must read them. But just reading the instructions will get you nowhere. You must then follow them step by step. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” When following God’s instructions we must trust them with all of our heart; not some of it. If we do not trust his directions with everything we are we will not have the strength or passion to follow them completely. Finally, we must listen to our instructors. God sometimes comes in the form of skin. He will speak his instructions for our lives through our fathers, mothers, coaches, teachers, etc. We must heed their advice as Proverbs says because it is often God speaking to us.

How will following the Instructions benefit you? If you remain patient and follow the instructions, the world will eventually lose and you will win. They may talk about their girlfriends, boyfriends, parties, hangovers and perverse T.V. shows and appear that they have found happiness but in the end they are left empty and downcast –they lose, you win. Finally, you will stand the test when the storms come and will receive the crown of life (James 1:12).
Follow Instruction and in the end you will be wise and blessed!


Ryan Austin