Long configuration files have a helpful/annoying amount of comments and explanations about directives. Put this function into your .bashrc to read config files without any comments or white space:
rconf(){ cat "$@" | egrep -v '(#|^\s#*$|^$)' ; }
Then re-load .bashrc file and next time you need to read a config file just:
# rconf <config file>
see https://fordodone.com/2015/12/02/read-configuration-files-without-comments-or-empty-lines/