Planned Obsolescence

JUNE 25, 2020

By Roslyn Catracchia, Director of Worship

I don’t know about you all, but everything has been breaking in my house over the past two months. I’ve called the plumber twice; put towels on the floor to sop up the leak in the roof; my friend Jerry has rigged a 3-by-2 “cork” to fill a gaping hole in the wall until I get a new AC unit put in; and I’ve stuck Kleenex in more holes in several bathroom windows.

I’ve talked to friends who are going through similar situations in their houses. I don’t know if things are breaking down because we are using them more, or we are just noticing more things in the house since we’re always home. Whatever the reason, it’s happening, and I’m noticing.

I have to do something about these things breaking in my house, starting with prioritizing (thank you, Mary Hicks, for helping me to really get that concept, instead of simply feeling overwhelmed!). So when the water faucet wouldn’t stop dripping and the knob just turned and turned, I knew the plumber was the next guy to call.

I’ve learned that when plumbers see this specific faucet problem, they will tell me they cannot fix it (it’s happened to me before) because the parts are cheaply made. I knew he was gonna say that. This wasn’t my first rodeo! So before he could say any more, I said “planned obsolescence.” He was surprised that I actually knew something about plumbing!

“Planned obsolescence” (yes, that’s real term) is a horrible but important concept my dad taught me years ago. He said that people actually MAKE THINGS TO BREAK. I’m sorry for screaming those words out just now with the all caps, but the venting felt a little good, so thank you! But seriously––what a concept! Make things to break – plan it, build it, so just about the time when the warranty is gonna expire, it’s simply going to stop … working. Period. Planned obsolescence.

It didn’t used to be like that. But apparently many excellent companies that built things to last have gone out of business because people didn’t need to purchase new ones to replace the original. They lasted, and lasted, and lasted. 

Thinking of how things break and are planned to last only for a short time, I am deeply thankful that we can have a relationship with God that is built to last for eternity.

That makes me think of a song I love called “Excavate” from the movie Joshua. Here are some of the lyrics:

When they excavate these ruins

thousands of years from now,

Will they wonder what I was doing,

Who I was and what my life was about?

When my riches lie in ruin on the landscape of my past,

Will they uncover that I was pursuing the things in life that really last?

Where your treasure is,

The things you love are a part of you,

And there will be your heart.

I sing that song often to myself. And I make choices in my life based on the message of this song, which is based on the messages of the Bible.

I am grateful that God has no beginning and has no end, and that He offers life everlasting to those who put their trust in Him. This reminds me of the Apostle’s Creed, which is what I believe and which makes a reference in the very last line to the life everlasting I’m talking about:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord;

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

Was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell;

On the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into Heaven,

And is seated on the right hand of God,

The Father Almighty;

From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,

The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Prayer: Thank You Heavenly Father, for the true and lasting friendship You offer to each and every one of us, for Your endless, deep, and abiding love, which is as far from planned obsolescence as the east is from the west. Thank You for walking steadfastly by our sides as we try each day to live our lives investing in others, seeking you, and pursuing the things in life that really last. Amen.

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