Following Instructions

Leviticus 14:14

And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

The book of Leviticus is a book of instructions. Some of the instructions God gives seem reasonable, but then there are other instructions you look at and wonder why God did not want His people to do or not to do certain things. Certainly, God always has a reason for everything He tells His children to do, but sometimes you can look at these instructions and question the reasoning for them. For instance, why did God want them to take the blood and put it upon the tip of the right ear? Why did God tell them to put the blood upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot? The reason why is not as important as to whether they followed God’s instructions. God may have had a specific purpose, but He may have used these instructions to find out the heart of His people to see if they were rebellious or if they had a heart of obedience and submission to Him.

Instructions reveal a lot about an individual. There are times when the instructions given may not seem to make sense or be important, but following instructions reveals many things about the individual. Let me share several things that following instructions reveals about a person.

First, it reveals their desire to do right. A person who does not follow instructions does not want to do right. Instructions are given for a purpose, and not to follow them reveals an individual does not care about doing right; they just want to do things their own way.

Second, it reveals their character. The fact that someone is willing to follow instructions reveals they have the character to do right even when others are not watching. Following instructions is often done when nobody is watching; therefore, you can find out if you can trust someone by how they follow the instructions given.

Third, it reveals if they desire to do everything the right way. Following instructions reveals if someone is willing to cut corners or if they desire to do things the right way. Someone who cuts corners in areas they consider unimportant will also cut corners in that which is important, which means you can’t trust them. Cutting corners to get things done eventually hurts people and an organization. It does not matter if someone thinks the instructions given are not relevant to what they are doing, those instructions given should be followed to every detail if something will be done right.

Fourth, it reveals your trust. Following instructions reveals you trust the one who gave them, and that they know better. If you are unwilling to follow instructions, you showing distrust in the one who gave them and that they know what is best.

Fifth, it reveals if someone has a rebellious or obedient heart. Rebellion is as simple as ignoring one instruction. That one instruction is critical to being obedient or rebellious. There are times a leader gives an instruction for no other purpose than to see if the follower is rebellious or obedient. Your decision to follow instructions shows if you want to be obedient in all you do.

My friend, those who follow instructions are those who can be trusted with position. If you want to be used in a greater way, follow all instructions, for if you will follow instructions as a follower, you will follow instructions as a leader.