As Christians, we know that Satan is out there trying to replace God, and in this phrase, he is doing just that. The origin of this phrase is attributed to 19th century French novelist, Gustave Flaubert as "Le bon Dieu est dans le détail" translating, “The good God is in the details.”
The meaning of this phrase was that one should pay particular attention to details, to not let your work or study be only about the big picture, but also about the smallest points. As believers, we often find God at work in the details of our lives. According to Luke 12:7, God knows the number of hairs on your head. Do you know the number of hairs on your head? I don’t. Not to mention that the number of hairs on your head changes daily as you lose a few or grow new ones. Yet, He knows.
As our creator, God knows every detail of our lives down to the smallest particle. Science is still in awe of how the smallest particles of our make up are so detailed, and how as we get stronger microscopes, we find even smaller particles exist. So God is very much in the details, and if we are paying attention and living for Him, we’ll see Him there and make certain that we don’t miss Him.
But in modern days, this proverb has been twisted. Replacing God with the devil wasn’t even part of the common vernacular until the 1960’s. And instead of talking about the need to pay attention to details when creating something, it’s speaking of the need to pay attention to the details when purchasing something, or taking something on. It’s talking about how the seller or creator is trying to hide things or con the purchaser into taking on something that he’ll find out isn’t as solid, as good, or strong as he thought it was when he was looking at the big picture.
The phrase is now referring to the evil that we will find when we look in the details of what has already been made. This is a sad turn of events. Because society has turned toward selfishness, and putting one’s own needs and wants above everyone else’s, we forget how detail-oriented God is. He hasn’t forgotten. If we are working to please the Lord instead of ourselves, we’ll make sure that our work is done honestly and that every detail is taken care of in a positive manner. A believer is not out to con others because he knows that God sees every detail of what we do and knows our heart, and there are no secrets from Him.
I know that I will purposefully be changing this phrase back to its original meaning in my life. Details matter. When we are creating, we should pay attention to the details to be sure that we glorify God with what we’re making. If everyone would feel this way, there would be no need to worry about fraudulent details instead.
