Billy Bob’s Ink Filler
Picture this... Billy Bob is working down in his basement. He's got his overalls on, and he has decided to figure out a way to refill Hewlett Packard Desk jet ink cartridges. He tinkers, he pokes holes in places where there are not supposed to be holes. He experiments with new types of ink. He burns the midnight oil, spends weekends down in laboratory (actually, it's his basement), he's really working at it. Then one day, viola! He has done it, or so he thinks. He markets the kit and people who own these printers think they will save tons of money. Thanks, Billy Bob!
I tried to refill the ink cartridge in my printer the other day. You must remember that the ink cartridge is not made to be refilled. You use it, when it runs out, you get a new cartridge. However, some genius got it in his head that Hewlett Packard didn't know everything they thought they knew. Never mind the fact that they designed the printer and the cartridge. Never mind that they put thousands of hours into designing and testing. No, Billy Bob, working in his basement, thought he knew more than them.
Billy Bob was wrong. Dead wrong. Messily wrong. There is ink all over my printer right now. I refilled the cartridge once, but the second time was ugly. Those cartridges are meant to be thrown away, not reused. They start to leak after a while because the seals were not meant to be used over and over.
You know what else? Despite what Billy Bob said on his box, his ink wasn't as good as HP's ink. It didn't flow as well; it didn't print as dark. It just wasn't as good as he advertised.
There is a great lesson in there for all of us. Somebody somewhere got it in their heads that they knew a better way to live than God's way. Never mind the fact that God designed and assembled our bodies. Never mind that He is omniscient, which means He knows everything. Never mind that in the end, we will all answer to Him. No, none of that matters to these people, they have a better way.
But is it really better? Do they really know what they think they know? No, sorry Sparky, you're wrong. You aren't the Creator. We can't manufacture a car that will last forever, let alone a soul. We are not omniscient. When this life is over, are we going to answer to ourselves or some being we made up? No, it is going to happen just they way God intended.
You know what else? Their lives aren't as good as they could be. Their marriages aren't happy, they can't control their kids. Diseases are rampant and growing every day. Crime is out of control; this generation of kids is hurting and lost. Yeah, we sure are doing a good job of recreating what God put together.
Maybe we need to get back to what God intended all along. Maybe, just maybe, the Creator knew what He was doing. The next time you read your Bible and the commandments look tough or impossible, just remember, you're not God, but you might be Billy Bob!
Today’s Readings: 1 Samuel 22; Psalm 17; Psalm 35; Matthew 6
For more posts, or to receive these daily via email, go to jerrygodsey.com