People change designs for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they do it because they don’t think they’re talented enough to do the original design justice. You see that with food. Making Alfredo sauce like an Italian is an art. It takes time, patience, quality butter, and most of all, no cream. The creaminess comes from the combination of the pasta water mixed with good butter and quality parmesan cheese. You lightly toss it all together, slowly mixing the flavors into a bowl of beautiful pasta deliciousness. But if you doubt you can pull it off like an Italian, you just add heavy cream instead. While it can still be tasty, it’s no longer the original design. You felt doubt, so you changed. Sometimes, people change an original design because they want to stand out. It isn’t that the original design is bad, but they want to highlight their individuality. Sometimes, you change things because you think your way is better. You see the design and you understand it, but you think you’re way is best. After all, who knows you better than you? Sometimes, an outside influence can cause you to change. You saw the original design and liked it, but your friend makes you question what you know is right. Satan did that with Eve in the Garden. Outside influence can play a huge part in what we think and how we feel about things. These days, people can even make big money influencing the clothes we buy or the places we eat just by posting a 30 second video.
Q: What are the pitfalls of changing an original design?
The Original Architect
Changing a design can be risky. Sometimes, when you imitate something, you are imitating the look of what you see from that design. You lose out on the values or the original intention. That happens a lot with movies. The original movie of the Bad News Bears is a great example of that. The original movie from the 70’s shows what happens with a group of misfit kids, who feel left out and discarded by the popular majority, can unite and become a powerful unit when someone finally makes them felt seen. The movie had heart and grit. Then years later, a remake of the original comes out. But rather than copy the heart and feel of the original, they instead highlight the peaks and valleys of the original and add in their own twist. They copied some of the things they saw, but lost the heart behind it. That can happen in life, too.
God designed our lives to do, and be, many things. He designed things like how we relate to him and how we relate to each other, including marriage and parenthood. But when he designed life, he did it with His heart behind it all. In all things God created, God’s unique love is seen. So when we change his original design, we lose His love that was part of that design. Because of that, no copy of that design will be the same, regardless of what it may look like.
I heard a story once of a man who was trying to build a bike for his son as a Christmas present. He saw the instructions of how to put it together. The original design. But rather than follow it, he thought he was skilled enough of a craftsman that he could figure it out himself. Hours later, all he had done was put together the handlebars. Seeing her husband struggle, his wife finally spoke up. She asked him a simple question. Who knows more about the original design of the bike…you or the people who created the bike? With that reminder of humility, he found the instructions he had once discarded and an hour later, the bike was completed and under the Christmas tree. If you think no one knows you better than yourself, you’re wrong. Your Maker knows you better than you ever will.
Made for the long haul
Growing up in the 80’s, I often heard that a parent’s job was to raise you till you graduated high school at 18, then ship you out of the house to face the world. Sometimes that meant college, and sometimes that meant the work force. It was a short term plan to get you ready for this world, then you’re out and on your own. When God designed life, he didn’t do it with a short term plan. There isn’t a cutoff point of 18 with His love. The proof is seen all throughout His creation. Tree’s help provide oxygen, which we need to breath. He covered the world with water and food, which we need to survive. He even created herbs and roots that can help heal when we’re sick. He also created companionship to help encourage and support us when times are hard. This was shown when he saw Adam and knew he couldn’t do it alone, so with Adam’s rib, He created Eve. And to top it all off, God himself walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. God was their creator, companion, mentor, and friend. We see a lot about God’s original design in Adam and Eve. Even when they sinned, he still clothed them and created a long term plan to fix what they had broken. God sees generations while we see only what’s in front of us, in that moment. So again, I ask. Why do we doubt the original design?
Trust and Patience
God’s plan was one of beauty, health, love for one another, and love for Him. We aren’t designed to be full of stress and worry. We were created for peace and joy. After all, we are made in His image, and He is a God who loves those He created. All throughout the Bible, we see images of His plan and His original design. Even though we stray, the plan is still goods. Even though we lose patience, the design is still good. Even when we don’t trust, His plan will always see us through. We just have to give it time to work.
Don’t panic and don’t lose trust in His plan. If we can remain patient, and allow his plan to come together, we get a chance to see the beauty of His design as shown in His love, and ultimately, bring him Glory.