If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Greg Gwin
07/02/17 - Attitude

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's wise advice from the voice of experience. But men are inclined to alter things that are currently working pretty well, with the notion that they can make it better. Unfortunately, the opposite often happens. The machine that was running smoothly now won't function at all; the business enterprise that was successful and prospering now is losing money; the structure that once stood strong and tall is now in danger of collapsing.

Change, you see, is not always a good thing. Unfortunately, there are some folks that are never content with 'things as they are'. They are always seeking to do it in some new, different way. They frequently end up 'breaking' what wasn't 'broke' in the first place.

Nowhere is this urge to 'change' more potentially dangerous than in the Lord's church. But, for some reason, we have brethren who constantly push for changing things. To these people we would offer these observations:

1. If the way things are happen to be that way because God ordained it to be so, then we have absolutely no authority to be changing it. Period. Through the centuries, misguided men have brought in a host of innovations to God's simple plan for the worship, work, and organization of the church. ALL of them are wrong. Let us never be so presumptuous as to imagine we can change or improve on His design.
2. In matters of general authority — where our judgments in areas of expediency are allowed — it is typically the case that we've reached sound decisions based upon what 'works'. If you want to see it done in a different way, you need to be prepared to show why your way is better — not just different. We're not interested in 'fixing what ain't broke.'
3. Realize that 'change for change's sake' is usually not helpful. What are you seeking anyway? Do you hope for a subjective, emotional 'high' if we change the order of worship? Dim the lights? Sing more or different songs? Do you think you can artificially stimulate folks to deeper study if we alter the Bible class arrangement? Do you suppose that members will become more involved simply because some new scheme for personal work is proposed? Maybe. Perhaps these things might work temporarily. But, of course, the underlying problems of the heart have not been addressed at all by these superficial 'changes'.
4. There is legitimate value to stability. We benefit from knowing how things are and how they will be. This is true in our homes, at school, on our jobs, AND in the church. Men should think long and hard before 'troubling God's flock' with unnecessary and unhelpful suggestions aimed at 'fixin' what ain't broke'.