If It Ain't Broke...

If it ain’t broke…

If it ain’t broke…don’t fix it. But what about improving it? If it’s still working could it work better? More efficiently? Just because your mower still cuts the grass doesn’t mean the blade doesn’t need to be sharpened. 

I have a relatively small yard compared to others so I have a push-mower that I use to cut the grass. It’s not that bad. It’s self-propelled. It works just fine. It gets the job done but there’s certainly a better more efficient way. A riding mower would require less work from me and would get the job done faster. Faster, better, and more efficient. 

This blog isn’t about cutting the grass but it is about maintaining and improving things in your life. Maybe it’s your lawnmower. Or maybe it’s your business. Maybe it’s your friendships and relationships. Or maybe it’s your marriage. We all have things that might need fixing. But even if they aren’t broken that doesn’t mean they don’t require maintenance, improvements, or upgrades to work even better. 

There’s also another side to that adage of “if it ain’t broke…”. If it ain’t broke…you probably haven’t used it in a while. There’s an old saying that’s been around for a while that sums this up perfectly. “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to a person that isn’t.” If that didn’t cut to your core the first time then maybe you need to read that line again. 

The Bible is an instruction manual, yes, but it’s also a workbook. It’s not a trophy to be displayed proudly on the shelf and dusted regularly. It’s a workbook to be studied and written in and highlighted. Maybe even a tear or two and a coffee stain here or there. 

We certainly get out what we put in. This applies to relationships, the Bible, and church. If it ain’t broke it might require an upgrade. If it ain’t broke it might not be getting used at all. If we don’t put some work in, we certainly won’t get anything out. 

We now live in a disposable world. Things aren’t built to last they’re built to break. They’re built to replace. A huge fallacy is if we take this mindset and apply it to the Bible, church, or people. Sometimes we tend to view people as disposable too. When they break I’ll just get a new one. I’ll just replace them because putting in the work is just too much work. I’ve got too many good tv shows and football games to watch. I’ve got too many self-help books to read about how to help both myself and others. It’s faster to replace than to rebuild. 

I’m not saying this to cast blame on you or to say you are doing these things or that this has been your approach. I’m simply saying that there’s no such thing as status quo. There’s no such thing as maintaining and staying the same. There’s increase or decrease. There’s incline or decline. There’s constructing or there’s destructing. It may feel small and subtle but it’s true. At least that’s what I’ve experienced in my own life. 

So how do you view the things in your life that we’ve discussed? Take inventory. Get real with yourself. Allow the Holy Spirit to do His job and reveal some things in your life that might not be broken, but could maybe benefit from improvements. Don’t be afraid of the hard work. That’s what we’re built for.  

Happy 2024.