There was a time in America a generation ago when General Motors, Ford, and
Chrysler ruled the automotive world. Detroit was Motown, and foreign cars were
for weird college professors, people from the land of fruits and nuts and it
seemed everyone else drove a Chevy. General Motors, far different from the
Government Motors of today had almost 60% of the market, and used to complain
that they were losing 1 of every 2 car sales. Bragging really. Ford was
second, Chrysler third, and AMC a distant fourth. But GM ruled the world of
cars, and Chevy was GM’s flagship brand. Selling almost 30% of all new cars,
they couldn’t do anything wrong. See the USA in your Chevrolet, and many did.
Product was the key, and from Corvair, to Chevy II, Chevelle, and to Caprice,
and then Camaro, there was a Chevy for everyone. Famous cars, famous engines,
283, 327, 396, and 454-all known as Chevy engines. The small block the best
selling engine of all time, of course it helped being in a Chevrolet. But then
the seventies hit, and gas got expensive, and cheapo Japanese cars hit the
shores, and suddenly mpg was more important than cubic inches. And when big
cars quit selling, GM had to adjust. And the once brilliant plan of Alfred P.
Sloan, of individuality reporting to a central office went askew. GM needed to
save money suddenly, and did the unthinkable, they would share engines from
various divisions with each other. But neglected to tell the buying
public.
And when one Oldsmobile customer found a Pontiac engine in his 98, he sued
GM. A class action suit followed, for no longer was there Chevy power, Pontiac
excitement, Buick smoothness, or even Chevy’s small block. They were all now GM
motors, and would all be shared. Customers fumed, many sued and won, “I bought
a Pontiac not a Chevy motor!” Their identity had been shattered, lost in the
corporate shuffle, and GM began to lose market share. Cars began to look alike,
and new platforms were shared among divisions. A Chevy Citation was also a
Pontiac Phoenix, Olds Omega, Buick Skylark, and the worst, the Cadillac
Cimarron. Bad designs, all the 6 cylinder spark plugs could not be reached
without removing the engine. And they all shared the engines, none specific to
the brand. They had lost their vision, and Roger Smith, CEO, when asked what GM
had to compete with a Toyota, replied “a 2 year old Buick.” Gone were Chevy
men, no longer cars like your father’s Oldsmobile, and Pontiac is gone, no more
building excitement. Cadillac is a poor excuse for luxury, and Buicks are
popular with the over 60 crowd. Which is shrinking fast. Where once brand
distinction was used for bragging and identification, now you bought GM. Whose
total sales today don’t equal that of Chevy in its best years. There was a time
when it seemed everyone drove Chevies, no one asks “what’s under the hood?”
anymore. Cars, like engines have become generic. Sadly some religion has
too.
After Nehemiah had rebuilt Jerusalem, God gave them specific rules to live
by. Most important was not to trade or intermingle, or even marry with
outsiders. Keep the purity they had been given through grace. But yet one
priest allowed his grandson to intermarry with an Ammonite, a sworn enemy, and
Nehemiah got mad. Priests should of all people known better. This led to an
invitation to the temple itself, and the emptying of the storeroom where the
oils and incenses were stored for holy ceremonies. Two laws of Moses were
broken, the defrauding of the Levites storage, but more importantly an Ammonite
was living in the temple. So Nehemiah evacuated everything out of the room,
thoroughly cleaned it and purified it, and sprayed it again with incense. The
grain was restored and the incense, all in one quick and prompt action. Harsh
to some, some thought he over reacted, today people would claim he was crazy,
yet he acted as Jesus would later throwing the moneychangers out of the temple.
He acted against evil and the actions of it, while today we have lost our
public indignation against such things. We are told Christians should be so
nice and calm, never standing up for what is right, but just a bunch of people
who want to ruin your good time with more rules and religion. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. For evil invades quietly, takes over, and soon
consumes,while so called good men do nothing. Look around, history proves me
right. But where are the good men?
We need to take swift action against evil. First to act in the spirit
first to recognize it, then to end it. Sometimes the actions are painful, both
financially and emotionally, it is tough to take a stand. For once you do you
are a target for ridicule. But the payment for sin will always be death, and
some deaths take a long time. Today many follow politicians, or politically
correct ideas. The world is being split by them, and people are angry, scared,
and fed up. Jesus said he would separate the sheep from the goats, but the
world is separating us all. Only in the spirit will we find true unity, true
fellowship, and truth. We will recognize evil and be able to deal with it.
Just saying no is not enough, you need to say yes to something, better yet
someone. Jesus Christ. It can be R rated movies, just a little drink. Maybe
just flirting with a neighbor, or cheating on your expense account. Maybe
“we’re getting married anyway” and living together. Did you know that 83% of
couples who lived together before marriage end in divorce? It is time to take a
stand for good now, before it is too late. All evil doesn’t look evil, some is
fun. Again the wages of sin is death. Stop dying and start living.
Sin is tough, Jesus is tougher. If you don’t think so, I have some 9”
nails here for your hands and feet. Hang on a cross for 6 hours, after 40
lashes. But his love is tender also, knowing when to love and when to stand up
to evil. Nehemiah knew God, and his laws. Today we have but one from God, love
him with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. We don’t all drive
Chevies anymore, learn from a once powerful GM what happens when you lose your
vision. When you become too big and cannot be told anything. The public voted,
and GM lost. Jesus offers us the chance to choose also. No other God does.
Don’t put a Buick engine in your Chevy God, put the right engine, the one who
died for the chance, put Jesus under your hood. And when someone asks “what’s
under the hood?” show them love. For what is in your heart will come from your
mouth. If your Pontiac mouth got your Olds in trouble, change to Jesus now.
When he is in your heart, love will spring forth in your life. Want excitement,
try Jesus. Nehemiah knew and acted on it without any meetings, programs,
procedures, or policies. Only God. He got results. Still wondering what’s
under your hood? Ironicly, the disciples were all in one Accord. Should have
seen that one coming.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com