2010-06-14

Except for Just One Thing...

Have you ever used a product that was so close to being just perfect for it's intended use, except for just one thing. That's a big "except," isn't it?

Here's an example. One of the companies that we buy food for our two birds from packages their product in a wonderfully thick plastic bag with a heavy duty zip lock top. This is awesome as it can be difficult to keep bugs out of the bird seed. But there is just one thing. (Isn't there always?) The opening of the bag is too small. So when the bag gets about half empty you can't fit your hand in the bag with a little scooper to get food out. What I end up with a product, with it's packaging, that is so close to perfect. Yet a simple defect makes it so difficult to use that we only purchase that product as a last resort.

It's a great bike, except for just one thing...
As an engineer it just drives me crazy that something could be so close to perfection and yet so far. I wish someone had just done a little testing. And there are plenty of more issues like this in products we use daily. It drives me nuts. Yet we as the customer allow companies to sell us items that aren't as good as they could/should be, because we keep buying them. We should hold these companies to a higher standard.

The only place that I know of where you won't get the "except for just one thing" is with God. Products have their exceptions. "It's a really great car, except...." The software that we use has its exceptions. "This is a great program, except I can't figure out how to ...." Our friends have exceptions. Religion certainly has it's exceptions. God does not have exceptions.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8
Have you tried God? Or are you basing your beliefs on what someone else told you? God has no exceptions. He can handle all the problems. God doesn't promise us a perfect life. Be he is the beginning and the end and everything in between. Are you willing to turn your problems and exceptions over to him? That's worth pondering about.