That First Car
One of the most exciting parts of young person’s life is that first new car. It probably ranks right up there with getting your driver’s license. Some people are lucky enough to have someone help them out acquiring one. I wasn’t so lucky and I would have to go through the process by myself. That was probably a good thing because, with my own labor and the struggles of paying for it, my appreciation grew.
I had a few things going against me when I purchased my car. The biggest of them was I didn’t have any money and I would have to get a loan. I did have a job and the banks seemed willing to lend me the money. The second problem was that it wasn’t the best time to purchase anything on a loan. My first car loan, or my first loan for anything, was at over twenty percent interest. No, I didn’t get my car loan from a guy in a trench coat. At that time, interest rates and inflation had skyrocketed.
My first new car was a 1981 Dodge Aries, the K-car as it was nick named. It was a white car and it had a light blue vinyl roof that only went half way across the top. Lee Iaccoca, who had been fired by Ford, had come to Chrysler. Chrysler was in very bad shape and they were hoping this man, who had such successful projects like the Ford Mustang, Escort, and Pintos, could rescue them.
Iaccoca was fired by Henry Ford II in a clash they had in 1978 even though Ford was extremely profitable at the time. The son of Italian immigrants, who operated a Yocco’s Hot Dogs, joined Ford in 1946. He went to work at Chrysler at a time when they invested very little on new models. He successfully pleaded Congress to give them a bailout (loan guarantees). He introduced the K-cars (Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant) in 1981. The Dodge Aries was a restyled version on the Dart and Aspen models. The Plymouth Reliant was a restyled version of the Roadrunner and Volare models. He also revived a project that had been rejected by Henry Ford II, called the Mini-Max. You may know it better as the Minivan. Motor Trend named the K-cars the Car of the Year in 1981.
I was just as proud as I could be of that car. The interest rate and payments never even bothered me. I was living with my parents at the time and had very few other payments. Besides, I was working six days a week and getting a lot of overtime. Then the economy took a nose dive and my enthusiasm began to wane. Just about every penny I earned went into that car. I was so glad when it was finally paid off.
With the possible exception of Richard Nixon, he was probably the most insecure person to be elected President. He was very bright, he graduated from Harvard, and he was very talented. He was a very successful lawyer. It might have helped if he had a little bit of a sense of humor, but he was who he was.
When you are fighting for your independence it is very hard to get other countries to recognize you, especially when your mother country is one of the strongest in the world. Support and weapons can help in that cause, but even then most nations are only going to go so far to help you out. Then there is the issue of money. Just because you print something doesn’t mean other countries are going to accept it. Just like that young kid making his first new car purchase through a loan, these other countries want to make sure they would get their money back.
He didn’t have much experience on the diplomatic side of things, but not too many of our Founders did. We needed an influx of money from somewhere. We were pleading with France for weapons, ships and soldiers, so that wasn’t a real good option for some money. We were at war with England, our mother country, so that wasn’t an option either. We needed someone who had something to lose, too, if we weren’t around. The next choice was pretty clear. We needed to contact a country that was importing a lot of material and making a lot of money off those imports. That country was Holland.
So off we send our little, humorless, insecure, and inexperienced diplomat to Holland. No one would talk to him. We weren’t a country yet and that meant there was no way to guarantee they would get their money back. I can see it now. He walks up to the door and everyone is hiding behind the couches in case he is looking through the windows. “Is he gone yet,” come the whispers across the room. “Yes. Yes, he’s gone,” is the reply. “Good, now we can get back to our dinner,” the relieved voices sigh. Our little diplomat is starting to get a little depressed, but he doesn’t give up. He starts talking to the regular people to see if they can put some pressure on their leaders. All this takes a lot of time. He keeps at it though.
Who doesn’t love a good foot rub. Your feet are tired from a long walk or from standing all day. There aren’t many people who would want to rub someone’s feet if their feet were dirty. Having clean feet might increase your odds of getting a foot rub. What if someone appreciated something you did so much that they not only were going to give you a foot rub, but they were also going to wash your feet for you. Let’s take this fantasy a step farther. Suppose they were going to pour a very expensive lotion on your feet after they washed them. I’m not talking about one of those lotions you see on TV where if you buy one bottle they say, “Wait, there’s more,” and they will throw in a second bottle free. Of course, that is if you buy right now.
That’s what happened to Jesus, except there was one big problem with the whole thing: the woman who did it was a harlot. “Jesus, do you have any idea who she is,” the crowd would probably say. Calmly Jesus told one of His parables. He said there were two men that owed a creditor some money. One owed him a lot of money and the other one’s loan was quite a bit smaller. The creditor told them both that he was freeing them from their debt. Then Jesus asked them a question, “Who would love the creditor more?” “The one who had the larger debt,” was the reply. “Exactly,” Jesus said, “and so the woman who has many sins has appreciated her forgiveness more than anyone else in this room.”
News arrived in Holland that the colonies in American had defeated the British and were now a new nation. Holland was now very eager to extend her hand in our direction. They went out looking for the little, humorless, insecure, and inexperienced diplomat, John Adams. And so goes the story of the first loan to the new nation called the United States. The hard work of John Adams paid off.
Sometimes people don’t believe in us until we prove we can handle things. Whether it is a young lad looking to purchase his first new car, a shaky diplomat, or just a sinner with a bottle of lotion, we all have those times where we need someone to believe in us. Maybe there are times when others need us to believe in them, too.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Please know how much I appreciate Your forgiveness. Thanks so much for believing in me and for not giving up on me. Amen.
