My career at Coca Cola started as a helper on a fountain delivery truck.
The plan was for me to be taught the job and open another route for me, as the
company was growing. I met all the requirements sooner than they expected,
which didn’t leave them any time to finish restoring the truck I would drive.
It was an old delivery van, Chevy in nature, from the sixties, that had carried
too many heavy syrup tanks in its day, which left the springs compressed, the
engine worn and without power, doors that wouldn’t or couldn’t lock, and 0-60 by
the watch in minutes. Yet it was supposed to help me carry out my duty, which
it did, barely. So old parts were no longer available for it, when the throttle
cable broke, they just removed the engine cover in the cab, ran some bailing
wire from the throttle linkage to the pedal, and it was good for a week.
Needless to say going up or down the hills in the Rockies made for an exciting
ride. Also the exhaust fumes entering the wide open cabin now made me
nauseous. I also filled Coke machines on the route, and it was the only vehicle
not equipped with a lock box, the 15-20 bags of money just hidden in plain view
between the seats. Cornering with a full load of 60 figals, syrup tanks made
for scary cornering, but never a crash. But somehow it all worked, and I didn’t
really mind, at least at first, it represented a paycheck, in Durango where jobs
were scarce, and paying ones even rarer. Number 56, and she needed a name, so I
called her the Roach, affectionately of course, and soon that was how she known,
and as I will always remember her. The Roach, RIP, somewhere out there a junk
yard has a spot set aside just for you.
But being the low man on the totem pole, still not sure what that means, I
got the hardest route, the most demanding customers, and the worst truck. We
all need to start somewhere, maybe not the top, but at least a work truck that
locks and keeps out the snow and rain. Where you put the pedal to the metal,
not the wire to the fire. Where bags of money are safe and locked up, not a
good thing on the Navajo Reservation. We have all been the low man when we
start, no matter the position, new means less than the others, and we need to
earn their respect and our way. The guys who drove the semis were looked up to,
the bottle truck drivers having more respect, and then there was me and the
Roach. I knew someday I would drive a more respectful and bigger rig, I did,
and it was hard not being proud when I did. Seems the view from the top is much
different than the view from the bottom. Or the Roach.
Our natural instincts make us want to look down at others, sometimes to
make ourselves look better or blame them when we don’t. ‘Look at what he did,”
the big brother cries out, after being busted. We all like to be in control, to
be better than the next guy, to be able to call the shots and make the
decisions. Put another way, to do as we please. Jesus sees things differently,
fortunately. And as we grow in the Lord we should too. He tells us we should
not esteem ourselves as being better than others, he himself taking the low
position of a servant, and dying on the cross. I have been in trouble too many
times for parking my motorcycle in the pastor’s spot, one time having it
threatened with being towed. That’s love, isn’t it. Or I have seen pastors or
staff given favorable spots at lunch, being passed through security in
hospitals, and also to me. Which felt good not having to wait in line, but
leaving a stain on me, for I was no better or deserving, maybe less than parents
waiting to see their child, or to see the doctor. How often do we use our
position, title, seniority, or place in society to get what we want at the
expense of others? Again, Jesus never hurried, and he was never late. As we
look at our watch while in line, or tell the guy ahead of us to hurry, all the
SOS is almost gone. But it is when we place all others ahead of ourselves, and
treat them as they are superior even if lower in rank, we elevate ourselves. We
serve, and a servant cannot tell who, what , when, where, or how he will serve.
We are told we are all ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but yet step
over the poor Lazarus like the rich man did. Ministry is not what religion has
made it out to be, it is simply seeing a need and filling it. Just like Jesus
told the church in Matthew 25. Who didn’t get, and bragged on all the things
that brought attention to them, but no glory to God. No love was found in it,
either for him or man created in his image. And so I was stuck with the Roach,
maybe the best lesson in humiliation I would ever have, and there have been
many. I rather be humbled than humiliated.
But Jesus does take care of his kids, and Biblical principles are not just
for Christians. Coming back from Canada we saw a sign at Circus Circus in Reno,
“$19 ROOMS!” Sounded like us, so we joined in the line, over 200 people and
we were out the door, having to lean just to see in the room. When a woman
stood up on the counter and announced “no more $19 rooms,” and the stampede out
the door began. Only lasting a few seconds, with us just standing there. With
only a few people between us and her. “But we do have suites for $29!” and our
corner suite that night even had a hot tub. Patience is a virtue, and a lesson
learned that night, of also how the last shall be first. So while others
complained about not getting a $19 room, we brag on our $29 suite, and a great
God who got it for us.
We are also told in scripture that the words from our mouth reflect who we
are. I can hear the silence now. But if we look at each other as Jesus does,
we see greatness in them. Love and compassion, and many times the only one who
will help when the important people ones are too busy for you. I started a
career in the Roach, it was retired after I was, and no one ever saw it again.
I imagine that somewhere out on a Colorado prairie it sits, red paint fading in
the sun, and the gentle sound of rusting away not heard. But in the day of
restoration, maybe someone will find her and bring her back to life. Imagine
yourself at a car show, and seeing the Roach restored to its original beauty.
Now imagine that that is how Jesus sees us when we repent. Maybe it wasn’t the
worst way to start when I look back, but certainly not the way I want to end
up. The world may be out of $19 rooms, heaven has plenty of $29 suites just for
us. It is not where you start but where you end up that counts. Hope to see
you there!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com