The 60’s was a particularly fascinating decade in this nation’s history. In many ways it was an era of excess. If a little of something was good, more, even much more would be better. Trendsetters in fashion, music, art, and architecture payed homage to past customs and traditions by curb stomping them and setting fire to the remains with 95 octane leaded gasoline. Boy’s bikes went from rudimentary forms of transportation to customized chopper imitations, weighing about the same but without the necessary oomph to get them up a hill. The gaudy chain guards did prevent the hems of our bellbottoms from getting chewed up and stained permanently with grease. Safety in those days? Child, please! Half the electronic toys sold to kids were almost certain to burn the house down if left unattended.
Some of the excesses of the 60’s were really groovy, especially if you were a performance automobile enthusiast. These were the years of the horsepower wars, where manufacturers kept one upping each other to lay claim to the quickest car on the street or strip. One such offering was the 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart, code LO23. This car was built in very limited numbers, 80 to be exact, to compete in super stock drag racing. To “discourage” buyers from driving this monster on public roads, it was delivered without a radio, heater, or sound deadening. There was no backseat and the side windows were replaced with plexiglass that was raised and lowered with a strap. In fact, Chrysler put a sticker inside the car stating, “This vehicle was not manufactured for use on Public Streets, Roads or Highways, and does not conform to Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.” But it was street legal, sooooo…
The Hemi Dart was not a grocery getter or a daily commuter. It was not the car in which you piled the family and drove to your brother-in-law’s cabin on the lake. But it was the perfect vehicle to cover 1,320 feet before the guy in the other lane did. The Hemi Dart was the automotive equivalent of using a sledge hammer to drive a finishing nail and hang the umpteenth inspirational sign your wife just brought home from the Hobby Lobby. It was like hiring Stephen Hawking to coach up your elementary schooler in his or her “gozintas”. Effective? I suppose, but not well suited.
In the same way buildings, clothing, and vehicles are intentionally created for a specific purpose, and conversely not for others, our Creator has fashioned us according to His design and calling. So ask yourself, brother: Am I doing that which God has prepared for me and sent me to do?
(Click “Stand On Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into LO23)
Stand On Firmer Ground