Sunday, June 10, 2012

Instructions need to be simple and clear

This weekend my brother was with us.  He comes on Friday evening and then immediately after Church on Sunday he returns to Quest Farm where he lives.  He is mentally handicapped, yet pretty clever.  His favorite drink is diet Dr. Pepper. In anticipation of his weekend with us, we purchased some diet Dr. Peppers and put them in the refrigerator.  We told him that he could only have three each day which seemed reasonable otherwise he would drink them until they were all gone.  He drank three on Saturday just as he had been told.  However, on Sunday morning prior to our taking him to church at 9 am, we noticed three more Dr. Peppers were gone.  When we asked him about them he said that they didn't have Dr. Peppers at Quest Farm where he lives so he drank his three-a-day in the early morning hours of Sunday. I guess he was obedient to what he was told, although that wasn't exactly what we had in mind.  The lesson is that whenever instructions are given to anyone, they need to be very simple and clear.  No one can read my mind to know exactly what I meant, so I have to work at simplicity and clarity.  My brother is mentally handicapped and obedient, but he is also pretty smart.