“Remember me?” I asked the man behind the desk. As he looked up from
behind the desk, over his half glasses, he was a bit grayer after 30 years, I
could only imagine how I looked. His puzzled look spoke more than any words, so
I introduced myself. “Mike, where you been, has it really been that long?” And
we talked, catching up over 30 years of life. Gary, had retired and moved to
Phoenix, but came back to Durango for a few weeks each summer and helped run the
shop in Durango. They were busy that morning, as they had been when I hung out
there years ago, and all the old guys I remembered were gone, except for Rick
the mechanic. We saw things differently now than then, and when I asked him
“why didn’t you take the Harley franchise?” which sat a few doors down, his
answer surprised and impressed me. “Too many rules and demands,” coming from a
guy who had been in the same shop for over 50 years. “It was more than the
money,” well spoken from a man who had been there and done that and came to know
there is more to business than going to work and just making money. Maybe Henry
Ford said it best, “ a business that makes only money is a poor business,” and
here was one, an old Honda store from the early sixties, that started in a
sporting goods shop downtown, I remember looking at bikes among the hunting
equipment. But they had made money, and just the lure of more money, laden with
how to run your business didn’t interest them. One quick trip into the cookie
cutter HD store and his point was well taken, just like any Mickey D’s or
Walmart, you knew just what to expect when you went there. His shop was one of
a few remaining I prefer to frequent, where the coffee pot is accessible, the
store not merchandised per a code, and you can walk into the shop and talk to
the mechanic. A shop where you want to do business, over a long period of
time. No “HARLEY PARKING ONLY” sign like the one that greeted my Triumph next
door, but guys that ride bikes, just don’t own them. We were both older and
wiser, looking at things differently after experiencing them in life, something
no franchise guide book or rep could do. You cannot teach experience, it must
be earned not learned. We had both, so we didn’t have to make the choice.
A few days earlier in Dubuque, Iowa we stopped for a shirt in the Triumph
store. Again a Honda store from the early sixties, they took on Honda after
Triumph, and had taken on Triumph again adding to Honda. An interesting
turnabout, and the owner, second generation, was telling us of the history and
attitudes from the factories. When buying a shirt with his logo on the back, he
complained how the Triumph rep had put him on a requirement of selling
$6000/month of clothing, and he was in a town of 55,000. “I have trouble moving
$15 shirts, let alone $35 shirts,” but the outside influence was there, and he
stuck to his guns, maybe they had learned something after all after 60+ years in
business. They dealt with people, and then the numbers would come....how many
franchisees of anything from sandwiches to motorcycles to ice cream to services
get it backward? We got a fair deal on a shirt, talked with the owner, who made
time for us, and left with an experience, not just an encounter. From behind a
counter. Interesting how both store sold at retail, no add ons for shipping and
set up, and had been in business for years. Maybe there was or still is more
than making money to be a good business, or to have a good career. If only so
many had known then what we do now, how many lives, marriages, and careers could
have been saved...if only we hadn’t been so headstrong and driven.
I know a few men who are driven by God, who ask, then listen to the
spirit. They seem out of step with the church of today, and when confronted
with a situation immediately seek God. And listen. Then act, sometimes an act
of patience, sometimes an action not thought of or considered. Then turn to the
word for confirmation, not the other way around. I have seen men over the years
claim because Jesus did it this way, that s the only way to do it, and fail
miserably, leading others astray while making excuses for their actions, blaming
God. And we find in Acts, even Paul was guilty of it, lest you think he had
some super connection to God, remember he was only a man, but when in the spirit
could do amazing things. And so can we.
Paul had been warned not to go to Jerusalem, to the point where even Agabus
bound him and showed him what would happen. But Paul was headstrong, and many
victories in Christ had led him to believe he should not stop. His church
family and believers had urged him by the spirit not to go, but he went anyway,
and found himself bound just like he was warned. Although he was ready to be
bound and finally executed for the gospel, he had become martyrlike, and bravery
has no place when guided by the spirit.
We need to be careful and led by the spirit when pursuing a vision God has
given us. Just because Jesus rode into Jerusalem didn’t make it OK for Paul to,
Jesus was always in the spirit, Paul wasn’t this time. And we find the words
here, that I have heard many times myself, and even spoken when I know I am
going out on my own, outside of the will of God. “Well may the will of the Lord
be done,” this is what you say when you do not know what else to do, when you do
not know how to act, and often heard when in disobedience. So many pray for
God’s mercy rather than the spirit’s guiding, remember you have to screw up to
have mercy, and God will forgive, has that become an excuse for our actions?
Has zealousness won out in your desire to walk with God, have you forsaken the
spirit? Is there more to life than just making money? Has your walk with
Christ taken on a religious franchise?
The spirit directed Jesus to Jerusalem, it told Paul not to go. Even the
greatest evangelist and author of many New Testament books can screw up, where
does that leave us? Jesus left us his spirit to be with us until he returns.
Experience Jesus as alive in the spirit today, expect more and get more from
God. Not seeing miracles, they are everywhere, you aren’t looking. Still
trying to get closer to God through education, get out and experience the spirit
in your life. Too many Christians are like franchised goods, the same, boring,
and never get closer to God. Make Jesus your desire, the education will come,
experience him, and see the Bible come alive. The spirit gives life, and
reveals the mysteries of Christ. Go further than a Bible study, but listen to
the spirit. A lesson from Paul, which he didn’t intend to make. Just as
powerful as the examples of his acting in the spirit. The toughest four words
you’ll ever pray, and the hardest to fulfill. But the most rewarding, “thy will
be done.” The will of the father, through his son, via his spirit. May the
will of the Lord be done in your life, on earth as it is in heaven. Now, where
have I heard those words before.....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com