By the time we were ten, most of the guys on our street knew all about
cars. We knew that Scottie’s Dad had a 1964 Chrysler 300 with a 413, and that
it was way cooler than the Rambler American of my parents. Marie and Joe, an
older couple had a 1964 Grand Pix, white over white, and that was even cooler.
No convertibles in our suburban street of growing families, I cannot recall a
single foreign car, it was all about American cars and what they represented.
We knew about engine size, and that the bigger the more power, which meant
faster. It would be some time before we would experience it, only Doug,
Scotty’s older brother had a friend with a 1962 Corvette, how could a 327 be so
small yet so fast? And cool? But the next year things were to change, as
Joey’s Mom got one of the first 1964 1/2 Mustangs, with a 260 V-8, and bucket
seats. Soon our small neighborhood had four of them, and the battle among which
was better came down to power, V-8 vs. inline 6. Our neighborhood was changing,
and so were car buying habits, but the one car, the one we never saw in out
neighborhood was a Cadillac. That would come when we got to junior high, and
the kids from the Scotchwood, the rich part of town would go to school with us.
There was something about a Cadillac that said “I was successful,” maybe it was
the fins, its presence, and while all the others were on their way up, and drove
cool cars, Mustangs, Corvettes, Buick Rivieras, and Pontiac Grand Prix, nothing
else said you had made it like a Cadillac. Although a GM product, their tagline
said it all, “best of all it’s a Cadillac.” And secretly we all wanted one
someday....
Much could be told of social and economic status by what you drove, and
today anyone who can finance a car for 10 years or more can own a BMW or
Mercedes Benz. The pride in knowing one has arrived has been tarnished by a
lower class of ownership. But to my parents, and their parents before them,
Cadillac was the final stop. It represented success, and who didn’t want to be
successful? So when we moved to California, and rented a house across the
street from an original Sunkist grower, who traded his Cadillac every two years
as was the norm, it caught my father in law Charlie’s attention. And he made a
deal with Virgil, Virgil would sell it to him for whatever the trade in at the
dealer was. Charlie was thrilled! Not only a Cadillac, but one at wholesale, a
deal. From a rich man. But as excited as he was, some in his family told him
“you can’t afford it.” Or “you don’t deserve one, they’re for rich people.”
But with the help of his credit union, his dream came true, and he owned his
first Cadillac. And afterwards that would be all he would own. A deal with
Virgil kept him in like new, gently used Cadillacs. He had made it, everyone
who would see him would think he was rich and successful, and no words would
describe the joy of pulling up in his new car. Suddenly doors opened, he must
be rich or famous, little did they knew he was a retired chief in the Navy. He
had status, like a banker, lawyer, or businessman...he had respect. He owned a
Cadillac. And understood what the tag line said when it said “best of all it’s
a Cadillac.” In the eyes of all who saw him, he was a success.
Now there are two kinds of people in the world, those who want to impress
man, and those who want to impress God. God wants us all to have success, it is
not a sin to be successful, but Jesus told his disciples that “the first will be
last.” It is better to serve than be served. Peter, James, and John had just
accompanied him from the Mount of Transfiguration, and although they had been
told to not tell anyone, and they probably didn’t, scripture doesn’t say, but
human nature may tells us different. How many times did you not tell the secret
you were told, but sang in front of those you couldn’t tell “ I know something
you don’t know...” taunting them? Or bragged, “I’m not permitted to say,”
making the secret grow in stature? What do you do when you are told a
secret....do you use it to exercise power over others?
If the measure of success is how many people serve me, then we get it
wrong. Jesus tells us it is how many people we serve, and the attitude we do it
with. Christianity is a radical faith, as it is all about Jesus and who he is
and not what we have done. it is about what he has done and not who we are.
Our natural desires, and the dream of worldly success only draws us away from
God and into trouble. Again Jesus gives us good advice, “seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and its righteousness, and then all things will be added unto
you.” It is not a sin to own a Cadillac, but to worship one it is. When the
creation takes the place of the creator, we fail. And no amount of worldly
successes will get us into heaven. Only Jesus. No matter what you drive, or
don’t drive....Jesus is and will always be the way.
We don’t know what the disciples were thinking when Jesus asked them, but
what are you thinking if he asked you? Are you after worldly success, with time
for Jesus later, or seeking him first? Are your thoughts of him, then others,
and then yourself? Are driving a new car with a broken heart inside? God
blesses us like he did Charlie with our desires. He waited a long time for his
first Cadillac, to achieve the success of owning one. God reminds us to have
dreams, but to be satisfied with what we have. It is the intangibles, the
things not seen but only to God that matters. Even though we may have a form of
success by the world’s standard, someday it will all turn to ashes and dust.
And one day we will all have our last ride in a hearse. A Cadillac hearse.
Success comes in many forms, so does the ride of your life.
I was there to see Charlie in his first Cadillac, beaming for all to see.
And I will be there when he takes his last ride in one. Charlie got a deal from
Virgil, don’t pass on the deal Jesus offers you. Best of all means different
things to us when faced with eternity, I am glad to say that “best of all, it’s
all about Jesus.” Success in the eyes of the world is fleeting, in heaven it
will be eternal. Cadillac may be the Standard of the World, only the standards
set by Jesus get us into heaven. My friend Peter, who puts out Wheels of Grace
magazine, a good read I recommend, says it best, “burn rubber, not your soul.”
And we thought we knew it all at age ten...
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com