The General, General Motors that is, was faced with a problem. A young
attorney by the name of Ralph Nader was crusading against their cars being
unsafe, and they didn’t know what to do. Now whether the Corvair was unsafe is
still up for discussion, but rather than deal with the issue brought forth in
his famous book “Unsafe at Any Speed,” they put a detective on his trail, to see
what they could dig up on him and discredit him personally. Rather than face
the facts that some of their cars could be made better, and institute internal
policies to correct them, they attacked the messenger and it exploded in their
face. Due to their mishandling of Nader, instead of reducing him they actually
elevated his status, making him one of the premier consumer advocates of all
time, and inviting the government into the automobile business. Never again
would the business be the same, as soon seat belts, criteria for brakes and
safety became government mandated, affecting the styling with 5 mph bumpers, air
bags, side door beams, and now the government was in the auto business. Leading
all the way to the eventual bankruptcy of GM by Obama, rather the raping of it.
There are some things the government needs to be involved in, business is not
one of them. General Motors and Detroit, then the world found out what “Hi I’m
from the government and I’m here to help” really means. All because they got
busted trying to discredit one man. The rest is history as they say....
Now I have never met anyone who wants dirty air, or unsafe cars, but we
need to be reminded that these are end results. Talking with a man who attended
rehab drug meetings, he found when you put a bunch of druggies together you end
up with better connections. Same with car thieves, but not the same when the
government steps in. We get more rules, more regulations, and soon the problem
they set out to fix ends up lost among the rules. After decades of being warned
about drunk driving, 50% of car accidents and those killed in them involve
alcohol. The rules have not changed the drinker who drives. Following someone
yesterday who obviously should not be driving, my friend at first was upset with
her, until I reminded him that someone passed her on her driving test. She may
be an idiot, but she had help getting there. I also watched a man need two
lanes to parallel park, and still ended up sideways on the curb, not in the
space. Supposedly both had licenses to drive, even though they exhibited no
signs of knowing how to.
Maybe my own experience will convince you. I was checking out and found my
license had expired, the DMV later sent out notices they had a computer problem
and some would not get renewal notices. Try that one on the CHP, “really
officer I do have a license, here is a letter from the DMV stating that,” even
Jon and Ponch would have trouble with that one. But when I took the test after
a 7500 mile trip, I failed. Seems some questions are worded so you have to
fail, and if you ride that way may get killed. When I explained to the DMV
woman about my trip, she said “why don’t you sit here, at my desk, and take it
again.” Leaving the test sheet with the correct answers on top for me to see.
Maybe she was the exception of being from the government and wanting to help!
But it still came down to my participation...
When God warns of things not to do in the Bible, they are for our own
good. When he told the Israelites to not intermingle and marry with those who
were their enemies, he told them for their own good. Those around them
worshipped pagan Gods, sacrificed their children to them, and were lewd and had
diseases they Jews didn’t have because they had obeyed. But when they
intermarried, and disobeyed the Lord, along with their disobedience they got an
attitude and adopted concepts that eventually led to their conquest. They
confused the true God for the pagan ones, and even Solomon, with his 1000 wives,
some from pagans, opened the door to civil war. God knew what he was talking
about then, and later when Paul admonished us to not intermarry, that darkness
and light have no place together, and soon the light will be overcome by the
darkness. All cancers start small, some are preventable, but if caught early
can be treated. Same with disobedience and since. But first we need to
recognize it and repent. We need Jesus, who tells us to turn from our wicked
ways, not turn or you will die. But many still play with fire and end up going
down in flames when they didn’t have to.
Just as the government intervenes when we cannot take care of ourselves,
bringing more laws and laws to break, if we turn to Christ we can change. He
will effect the change, but first we must realize we are in sin. And when we
do, he is the way out. It takes Jesus and only Jesus, but I hear too many times
“hi I’m from the church and here to help,” meaning well but bringing doctrine
and legalism to a place where we need the holy spirit. They have all the
answers, just like I did on my retest, but it didn’t mean I could ride, my trip
proved that. If only we ask “where is Jesus in this situation?” we could avoid
the retest, and the penalty. Getting closer to God all the time!
Love the sinner, but hate the sin. Easy words to remember afterwards, if
only we could practice them first. One criteria for a mature Christian is
accepting responsibility for ourselves, not pointing out sin and attacking the
sinner, lest we be attacked. When told to study to find yourself approved do
you approach it like you do a test, to pass, then forget, or is it part of
knowing Jesus? Are you still studying to find a scripture to OK your sin, or do
you seek to grow in Christ? Do you go to church and think that makes you a
Christian, or do you know Jesus? Is your name on a membership list to prove
you go to church, or written in the Book of Life proving you know Jesus and are
heaven bound upon death? Are you attacking the accuser like GM did, or facing
up to your own sin? Your sin will find you out, better to find Jesus
first.
God’s wisdom is available to all, his practical guidelines and advice ready
to be applied. But only work when you apply it. We have all been given the
same measure of faith, yet some use it while others make excuses. Faith is the
basis of life, and life is for the living. Better explained while riding rather
than to the CHP on the side of the road. Sin will always have a consequence,
God forgives the courts don’t. You get to choose the judge you will face, only
in Jesus Christ will you have an advocate pleading your case. “Honest
officer...” he’s heard them all. Why not take a chance with God. Obedience is
better than sacrifice. Forgiveness is better than condemnation. Life is better
than death. They killed Jesus the messenger, but his message is still true
today. And Nader, he ended up running for President. “Hi, you’re from where?”
makes all the difference in where you are going. Having a driver’s license
doesn’t mean you know how to drive.....just my take on the law. Maybe Barney
Fife’s advice of the first rule is obeying all rules applies here. Maybe Jed
Clampett said it best about the law, “what in tarnation?” So they loaded up
the truck and they moved to Beverly, in an Oldsmobile. I’ll take grace, I hope
you do too.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com