If It Ain't Broke . . . .

I bought some deodorant at Costco a few days ago. At wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's Club, you don't buy just one of anything. Most things are quality in those stores, but everything is quantity. In the particular package of five Gillette deodorant sticks that I purchased, I got a free Fusion razor. I'd seen advertising for this new razor product, but had not paid much attention. Yesterday morning, I needed the new deodorant so opened the package. I decided to shave with the new razor and was surprised to find it had no fewer than five shaving edges on the razor head. I had heard another company advertise a razor with four blades, but had never tried that either. It really amazed me that somebody thinks a man needs five blades at one time to get his face shaved.

My shaving connection with Gillette goes back a long time. I bought an Atra razor, if I remember correctly, back in the 1970s. It had two blades and a swivel head. In my opinion, it was definitely a change for the better over the single stationary blade common before that time. Then maybe ten or twelve years ago, I changed to a Gillette Sensor razor . . . still two blades, swivel head, but it was an improvement because the shave was smoother and the blades lasted longer.

Two or three years ago, I made a startling discovery. I have a fairly heavy beard and had been troubled by the having beard particles clog the spaces around the blade edges. In time this made me have to throw away the blades before they had become dull. It occurred to me that leaving the razor head soaking in water might dissolve the buildup. Not only did that work, but I discovered that blades kept in water last much longer than otherwise. I'm probably revealing a secret that Gillette doesn't want men to know . . . but it really does work. I've gone as long as three months getting good shaves daily from one Sensor Excel razor head.

I have given all this history to demonstrate that I'm not one of those guys who has his set routines from which he will never vary. Invent a better mousetrap and I'll join the crowd beating a path to your door.

However, in this case, I'm not ready to jump on the Fusion bandwagon, if there is such a thing. The wider five-blade head forces you to shave at a different angle and makes some parts of your face difficult to reach. Plus the overall shave was nowhere near as good as what I was used to getting with the Sensor Excel blades. Gillette, you already have a great product. We don't need five blades to shave our faces. Leave well enough alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If you've read this blog before, you know that we are not geared toward reviewing consumer products. Most of the time there is a "lesson" to be learned from the bytes of everyday life experiences that I usually share here. Today's entry is no different:

In Acts 17, the apostle Paul traveled alone to the Greek capital, Athens. After he encountered various people in the city, he concluded that both the Athenians and foreigners who lived there "spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing" (Acts 17:21, KJV). If it was new, they were interested in it.

That view has not gone away over the centuries. We still have people who are infatuated with change for change's sake. I visited a church once and got to talking to the minister. He told me that they "made a deliberate effort" to do things completely differently in their worship assembly from one Sunday to the next.

It's a good thing to avoid getting oneself into a rut . . . either in our personal lives or in the life of the church. We need to be open to different ideas and methods as long as those ideas and methods are in harmony with God's will. However, just because something is new and different does not mean it is better.

We don't need to be afraid of change. Neither do we need to be enamored with change. Let everything be scrutinized carefully. If what we are doing now is better, don't change it just to be different. If a new way offers advantages over the old, then by all means, let's be willing to give it a try.

I think that is good strategy . . . whether we're talking about which razor to use . . . or how to carry out the work of the church.