Things

I made my regular Starbucks run this morning. At this point, I feel the need to let you know that I am not a coffee drinker. Never have been in spite of the efforts of my father to try to get me to like the nasty stuff. I do drink chai. My first experience with chai was in Vladivostok, Russia where the chai is a kind of fruit tea. Since I've been back to the States, chai has blossomed as my drink of choice. Although it's nothing like the Russian drink, I like chai.
Well, that was random and useless. But anyway, I made my regular Starbucks run this morning. My old van has 151,000 miles. The air conditioning doesn't work. It's just old and ugly and it runs and it's paid for. There were two gentlemen in the place when I walked in. They were sitting in the easy chairs drinking their (I assume) coffee. They were the only two customers in the place. When I left, I noticed the cars they were driving. One had a beautiful red Mercedes SUV. It was nice and clean and had all the bells and whistles on it. But sitting next to it was a red, convertible Mustang GT.
As I drove to work, I mused that despite the fact that these gentlemen had such nice, expensive vehicles to ride in, my car worked just as well. The results were the same for all of us. We were able to purchase our drink of choice and walk out and go wherever we wanted to go.
I guess my point this morning is we get so caught up in the material. And the scary thing is, although I felt sorry for myself, my vehicle is better than what most people of the world don't have. My trip to Trinidad in the 90s helped me to realize that it's not about the physical. The money, the things don't help us get to heaven. What gets us there is Jesus...and only Jesus.
Those of us who strive every day to get more and more should strive to be more and more like Jesus. He said, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man doesn't have a place to put his head." Was He trying to say we should give away everything and live as paupers? No. He was saying quit putting your trust in the things that deteriorate and rust and break.
One day, the guys I saw are going to have to get new cars. But my old van will still be running (hopefully, please, please, please) and I'll still be able to get my chai. I think I'll drink mine now. Have a good day. JW