What Happened to Craftsmanship?

A few years back when I still had my Ford Explorer, it began stalling at stop lights.  I thought it only needed a simple carburetor adjustment to set the idling higher.  Looking under the hood I discovered that there was no visible way to make the adjustment.  After a few weeks of putting up with the stalling I took the Explorer into a local garage.  I was told that on the newer vehicles with electronic ignitions there was no way to manually adjust the idling and that they could check it out with their computer.  The result was that after a ninety-dollar charge they thought it was a minor vacuum leak which they could not find.  I would have to take it to the Ford dealer and get a “smoke test.”  That test involves forcing colored smoke into the system and looking for the leak.  The cost would be about one hundred additional dollars.  I figured that I could keep my foot on the gas pedal at stops rather than pay that kind of money on top of what I had already spent.

About a month later the Explorer was due for servicing.  I took it in for a regular oil change and while there the technician told me that it needed a new air filter.  I agreed to their putting it in for an addition ten dollars or so.  Believe it or not, the idling problem was solved.  After all the frustration, computer checks, the mechanics guessing about a vacuum leak, it turned out that the engine was being starved for air.  What happened to craftsmanship?

Combine that experience with another one involving our getting a new vinyl room to replace the screen room on our house.  During the first two days the installer tore off the old metal roof and installed a new one.  Then the next day he began installing the aluminum framework into which the vinyl windows would fit.  After the third day I noticed that the upright aluminum 2 x 2 inch pieces were not exactly vertical.  It was very noticeable when looking through the sliding glass door toward the uprights.  They did not match in their vertical positions.  I put a level on the posts to verify that they were not plumb.

The next day I called it to the installer’s attention and ask if he did not use a level to make sure the uprights were plumb.  His answer was, “No, I just eye them.  I’m pretty good at getting them straight.”  I told him that I wanted them changed which involved taking out screws, drilling new holes, and re-positioning the uprights.  Again, I wondered, “What happened to craftsmanship?”

Reflecting on these experiences, I believe that God is not pleased with haphazard work.  His creation of the universe with its precise timing, the intricacies of all created things, among many other things, reveal that God is the Master Craftsman.  I find in the Bible that when the Temple was being built by the Jews the measurements were exact and the building was done with the best of materials and craftsmanship (I Kings 6 - 8).  In the Book of Revelation there are precise measurements of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).  The Lord commends those who do things well (Matthew 25:23).  Mark records that “People were overwhelmed with amazement.  ‘He has done everything well,’ they said….” (Mark 7:37).  I cannot imagine Jesus doing shoddy work in Joseph’s carpentry shop (Mark 6:3).

I believe that the casual attitude in many of today’s work places has also invaded the church.  So many people take such a sloppy approach to God’s house and His work.  What has happened to “Give of Your Best to the Master?”  (Song).  God cannot be pleased.  I recall a phrase that my Mother often used, “Something worth doing is worth doing right.”  It also pleases God.