Audacious or Courageous

The Plymouth Prowler came at an odd time for Plymouth’s parent company, Chrysler. Its newest brand, Eagle, was dying on the vine after less than a decade of existence. Its concept cars included a V10-powered sedan that previewed the new Hemi-powered 300C, which could only be successful after a costly and unusual platform-sharing partnership with Mercedes-Benz. There was no plan for Plymouth, and in 1997, Plymouth was running two-page ads featuring an iceberg (as in, you pay for the tip of the iceberg but you get so much more!) which prominently featured Plymouth’s logo. Which was a ship. Pointed toward the iceberg.

Nevertheless, the Prowler was produced despite the odds and despite Chrysler’s lack of a decent V8 for it. Measured by sheer audacity, it was a success, as was the Dodge Viper, the Dodge Neon ACR, and Chrysler’s swan song for the big front-drive sedan, the forthcoming 300M. But audacity isn’t the best measure of a car company.

Audacity is no way to measure people who claim to follow God, either. God knows this, so to help his followers be a little less audacious and a little more faithful, he gave this warning and encouragement to his people before bringing them into Canaan:

“The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:1-5

Then, as now, God speaks from a heart that knows which temptations are the strongest for his people. Out of concern that new freedom in Canaan would tempt some people to revert to old ways, he warned them against falling back into patterns that used to enslave them. Out of concern that stress from changing circumstances would tempt some people to chase unhealthy means of stress relief, he warned them against being swayed by new temptations. 

This encouragement spans generations. Countless people, intent on following God, have looked at the journey as too difficult, too uncertain, or too unusual. It’s easier to go back to how they were before they followed God. It’s easier to be led by something else, even if they were enslaved by it. The testimonies of countless people in addiction recovery programs verify how powerful old temptations can be, and how devastated they are after finding themselves under the control of an old temptation yet again. 

Then, after a sudden change in life that comes with new opportunities and new stressors, it’s easier to be swept up by new means of handling the stress. Even if you followed God during one stage in your life, this new stage is different, and adapting faithful practices from your past takes work. A sudden change could mean finding new Christ-followers to grow with, carving time out of a new work schedule to read God’s word, looking for a new church home in a new city, or applying Godly character to a brand new challenge at work. 

None of this is easy. God knows this, which is why he said, “Be careful.” Later on in Leviticus 18, he adds an important distinction: “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled” (v. 24). 

God’s chosen people were supposed to be different than the Egyptians, who enslaved other humans, and the Canaanites, whose economic wealth offered the people numerous opportunities to pursue physical and sexual freedom that left their people broken and abused. God doesn’t want this for his chosen people, which includes you, and anyone who seeks God or will one day seek God. He’s warning and encouraging you to be careful, not careless, and courageous, not audacious. He’s asking you to follow him.

Plymouth didn’t last too much longer after the Prowler. This isn’t necessarily the Prowler’s fault. If its main goal was to generate enough interest in Plymouth to draw car buyers into Plymouth showrooms and put down money on a badge-engineered Breeze (aka Dodge Stratus) or Voyager (Dodge Caravan), it did great. But if its goal was to show Chrysler’s audacity, it was even more successful – although Chrysler was less successful because of it.