When we relocated last month and I needed to buy a refrigerator I opted for a nifty stainless-steel side-by-side with the ice and water dispenser in the door.

In the days since the move we have had some interesting adventures with leaks, ice dams and crushed-ice snowstorms in our kitchen.

This weekend I finally uncovered the refrigerator’s User Guide and learned the simple steps necessary for smooth operation of this particular model.

It seems that it actually pays to read the instructions before using. Who knew?

Perhaps many of us could avoid “interesting” and unpleasant adventures by simply reading the Users’ Guide to life, the Bible.

Now, the refrigerator’s user guide had only a half dozen pages, including the foreign language versions, while there are over a thousand pages in most Bibles.

Most of us resist reading even brief instructions when we think we already know how to use the product. That’s human nature.

However, when you consider the potential consequences, the time and effort spent learning how to use the life God gives us and how to trouble-shoot the spots we get into…well, it’s definitely worth it.

My failure to read the refrigerator guide resulted in some splashes and spills. Failure to follow God’s guide can cost eternity.