Looking out of my office window this morning, I see only one American car,
a Dodge, I mean Ram pickup. Everything else is from Asia, including the Kia
Soul Theresa just went to work in. The Mustang in the garage doesn’t count. I
wonder, what does this tell us about America? Growing up it was the Big Three,
with AMC a distant fourth. GM used to brag it was losing every other car sale
as it had over 50% of the market, Chevy sold one out of very four! You could
tell a Ford from a Chevy from a Dodge from a Pontiac-remember them, at a glance,
or even by the sound of their V8, now they all look the same to me. And with
Ford not selling cars anymore except for the Mustang, now all the trucks look
the same. By trucks we include SUV’s, minivans, and of course pickups, once a
work truck, now basic transportation replacing the car. We may buy a lot of
trucks, but last year all the pickups combined would not have outsold Chevy in
my growing up years. America has changed its buying habits, as Toyota is the
norm on my block, I can truly say they have never given me “oh what a
feeling.”
Thirty some years ago we were invited to a focus group to critique new
cars. To see if the sponsoring manufacturer’s new vehicle would meet the
approval of mediocrity. It was unnamed, but definitely American, before
Chrysler was stolen and raped, then bargained away to FIAT. But with the
nameplates all covered on the competition’s vehicles, you could not tell which
brand they were-they all looked the same! Even looking at stampings on parts,
they all said Nippon-Denso, seems all Japanese makers at the time shopped at the
same store. With no way to tell which car was which, we soon lost interest in
cars, for your information the new car being surveyed was the Dodge/Plymouth
Neon, when is the last time you saw one, or even hear of one?
At a recent car show, no foreign cars were there. None. It seems memories
are not made in rental cars, no one ever cried over selling their Nissan, and
even they used to be Datsun. We bought American, drove American, and then
traded American. But in one generation it has all changed, with the Japanese
taking a play from Joseph Stalin’s playbook, who drove a Russian version of a
Packard, “give me your kids for a generation and I will rule the world.” And
the cars you drive on its roads....
Reading in Nehemiah about the building of the wall, we see many names
unpronounceable to us listed as the builders. Men who did the task set before
them, telling of men who worked next to each other. But it also lists the
slackers, the ones who shirked their responsibility,who decided not to work as
God asked. Here he also lists the repairs done to their own homes, it seems the
working class here was working in their own neighborhood, the place where God
placed them. Jesus told his disciples they were appointed, strategically placed
by God, he had them where he wanted them to be. And he still does today, no
word of him changing or of the Bible being revised. God has things under
control, down to where you are, and as to what he wants you to do. Finally it
reveals that except for one group, the men stayed until their work was
completed. The completed the task before them as God ordained. The church
helped one another, what a message to the world around them. But also called
out the slackers, those who were of the community, but denied God’s calling. If
you were going to hire a man, who would you have hired? By the car he drove, or
the work he did? Your answer may surprise you....
Jesus still doesn’t have a marketing plan. No advertising budget, no book
sales, and rebates or coupons for discounts. When working with Coca Cola
marketing, they had a simple premise for where their product would be displayed,
“must pass, first see.” You must go past the Coke display, and you must see it
first. Before the competition. That’s marketing, and made them a world leader
in it. But it is not a new idea, as Jesus sent out his disciples, and sends us
out too, where you cannot go a day without seeing his glory, or meeting his
family. From the sun coming up, to its setting, you first see Jesus revealed in
his workmanship. Jesus never changed or changes, but his church does. Today
having marketing teams, special events, some free, some you pay, with men
getting the glory instead of God. A far cry from what God ordained, but sadly
what the world thinks is Jesus today. The church is us, we are supposed to
represent God, but do we represent a denomination, a pastor, or religious system
so powerful God gets lost in the shuffle? If your name was to be listed, would
it be as a builder or a slacker? As a church member, or a person of God? God
knows the difference, he is separating the sheep, true Christians from the
goats, church only people. Do you spend more time concerned over what you drive
than about Jesus? Who or what drives you?
Just a point in automotive history, no one wanted the junky Japanese cars
until the gas crisis. Then all the rules changed, mpg was in, power was out.
They gave us low quality fuel efficient cars, and today they own the auto
world. Even FIAT Chrysler advertises “imported from Detroit.” With a specific
list on each new car telling its origin of parts, designating its origin. With
almost all foreign cars manufacturers building cars in the states. So when does
a Toyota become American? Never, its home is Japan. So when does a man of the
world become a Christian? When his origin is Jesus, and his name written in the
book of life. If not there, it means hell. Where is your name listed right
now? Or are you a foreigner filling a church using the name of Jesus, thinking
you are a Christian?
Each new vehicle sold in the US of A comes with an MSO, manufacturers
statement of origin. How we are born we have no choice in, but how we leave we
do. Nehemiah took the time to list the workers and separate them from the
slackers. Their purpose and accomplishments listed, as per God. Don’t be
fooled by attending a church, reading the Bible and praying thinking you are
saved. Not bad things, but not salvation, which only comes through Jesus
Christ. Do not be deceived by false promises, nor of fake claims. Jesus knows
and you can too. Chevy never saw the Japanese coming, do you see Jesus? You
are here and where you are because God wants you there. Someday you will face
the most critical inspector and it won’t be you, or the church. Or the car you
drive.
Meanwhile in Detroit...
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com