DIY Disasters

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

– Psalm 10:4

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work, shop, and eat. And an interesting side-note is that it also spurred a massive increase in home improvement projects. With millions of Americans opting — or forced — to stay home rather than travel or dine out, many people spent their idle hours upgrading their residences. More than 75% of the homeowners surveyed by Porch.com reported that they had completed at least one major project since the onset of the coronavirus. At one point, deck construction was up 275% and fence installations were up 144%. With money in hand and few places to go, consumers focused on making their home their castle.  

Many of these same consumers did just that by doing the work themselves. From building a backyard deck to installing indoor lighting, consumers can save thousands of dollars instead of paying a licensed professional. Websites, magazines and cable TV channels are devoted to showing these so-called DIYers how to do it right.

Of course, this comes with a hefty price for those would-be handymen and handywomen who discover that they’re in over their heads. The This Old House website features a DIY Disaster section that chronicles the woes of homeowners who thought they could do it themselves. One Colorado women wrote that because of her area’s extremely-high property values, she bought a condemned home for $160,000 just to enter the market. She thought she could afford to re-pour the house’s foundation — but she failed to calculate the additional cost of re-wiring, new ductwork and landscaping. And when the house was lifted during the foundation repair, the back 300 square feet of the structure collapsed! In the end, the ambitious DIYer paid $12,000 to transform her 2-bedroom house into an uninhabitable single-bedroom shack!

In many ways, this DIY disaster story has much in common with passages we find throughout the Bible. A recurring theme is that God has a grand vision for his people and a plan for achieving it. But mankind — through its arrogance and ignorance — decides that it knows better than the Creator, and sets out to do it themselves. 

Predictably, the results are both tragic and disastrous. In one of the earliest passages of Scripture, the devil convinces Adam and Eve that God is preventing them from reaching their true potential. Gullibly falling for Satan’s lies, the first man and woman eat the fruit that their Creator had commanded them to avoid. Unintended consequences such as illness, crime, poverty and death have plagued mankind ever since.   

Yes, there are some relatively simple household tasks that we can do ourselves to save time and money. But for the larger, more important projects that we can’t afford to foul up — whether they involve our homes or even our souls — it’s always best to call on a Pro.