It would be very interesting to see the amount of productivity that is lost each day from the lack of people following instructions and having to “rework”. All day long we are given, or give, instructions only to find that at the end or in the middle of something someone didn’t follow the instructions, cut a corner, or decided to change the instructions to their own liking and everything falls apart. Sometimes these events in the business world can have a huge impact. As we wait to see why the fail safe of the BP gulf oil rig didn’t work we are left to believe that the fail safe faulted because one person didn’t follow the instructions and allowed the batteries to die and then didn’t replace them. Not following instructions can have a severe impact on the lives and livelihoods of many people. So, what are we to learn from this? I believe instructions are given to be followed and only after those instructions either don’t yield the desired results do we then try and change them. Every good boss I have had has been open to my ideas, if I have followed their instructions well and found ways to improve, or I went the extra mile to do more than required. Seldom was anyone happy about my ideas if I hadn’t already followed the instructions given to me. I have reflected on this many times and I am also amazed at how God demonstrates for us in the Old Testament (many times) how important it is to follow instructions when given to us. Numbers, Chapter 4 is a great example as God doled out the duties to the Clans through Moses and Aaron. He was very detailed in the instructions and expected each person to follow them thoroughly and fully. The lesson we can take from this is that if we are here to bring glory to God in our work, then we will never be able to do so if we don’t follow the instructions well, complete the job as given to us, give it all that we have and then when it is over, we can look at ourselves in the mirror and know that all that could humanly possible occurred and we can give glory where it belongs to the God who gave us the talents, the skills and the attitude to be the best we can be.

Reference: Numbers 4