[609 words]
I have owned 12 vehicles before my current car, which is a Scion xB. Included in that list are a number of”luxury” brands, including Audi, BMW, Infiniti, and Mercedes Benz. One would assume that when I identify the best vehicle I have ever owned (with my current Scion xB not being eligible, since I do not know how well it will fare in the long run), I would definitely name one of those luxury brands, as opposed to a Ford, Mercury, or Volkswagen. Ironically, however, the best car I have ever owned (based on my standard of dependability and needing the fewest possible repairs that I had to pay for, other than routine maintenance) was a Mercury Villager minivan. I drove that minivan over 200,000 miles without paying for a single repair—just regularly scheduled maintenance that I had performed at the right time according to the manufacturer’s schedule. No other car I have ever owned has done that.
I sold the Mercury Villager to a person at school who needed a dependable car they could afford, and she drove it for several years before she sold it to another school employee, so I know that this Mercury Villager made it over 300,000 miles without any real problems. I still frequently see that vintage Mercury Villager on the road today, so apparently my minivan was not just a lucky freak. In fact, had that teacher not needed to buy a car she could afford after the previous car I had sold her was wrecked, I might still be driving it today. It certainly held a lot of memories of great family vacations, etc., and I have to admit I still miss the second row of captain’s chairs.
This all goes to show that appearances and even generally accepted ideas about what is best can be very wrong. Genesis 13 tells the story of the conflict between the flocks and herdsmen of Lot and Abram, along with the separation plan. Abram told Lot to choose what he wanted and Abram would take whatever Lot did not choose. Genesis 13:10-12 says, “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.”
On the face of it, Lot took what clearly appeared to ‘be the better choice—the well watered plain that would seem to be ideal for grazing and raising flocks and herds that needed plentiful food and water. Abram, true to his word, took the remainder, which was more mountainous and somewhat less promising. The story does not end there, however, because where Lot settled was inhabited by wicked people and their influence was not good for Lot or his family, while Abram lived far away from those evil influences.
Where are you living? Are you in the seemingly good land of material plenty, enjoying the fruits of the good life, but at the same time exposing yourself and your family to evil influences that are life altering and a threat to eternal life? If so, isn’t it time to choose to be with God and his people full-time, fleeing from those who are trying to win you to their sinful ways? What is keeping you for casting your lot wholeheartedly with God?
David M. Lacey
Channelview Church of.Christ
Channelview, TX