Good, for Nothing?

Ford created the pony car, but bow-tie folks contend that Chevy perfected it. They make a compelling argument. The 1970+ Camaro, especially the split-bumper 1971, was fantastic. Just $3,000 bought a 350 (5.7-liter) V8 model, but you’d really want the Rally Sport package ($179), Z28 package ($786) and 4-speed manual ($205). A Camaro so equipped was good for a 15.1-second quarter-mile at 94 mph and handling to shame anything with a blue oval on it. 

But during 1970, it seemed less and less relevant. Chevy wouldn’t have a factory entry in the Trans-Am racing series (Ford had also pulled out of Trans-Am, plus USAC and NASCAR – yes, NASCAR!) and pony car sales were way, way down. In previous years, Mustangs outsold Camaros 3:2. The 1970 Camaro had made big leaps in looks and performance, and looked on pace to come out on top. But without the outcomes of big sales or big race wins, did it matter?

Effort and reward. Input and outcome. Labor and paycheck. It’s the natural order of things for humans. So when God upsets the whole apple cart and offers free grace (see Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8, or John 3:16), people are left wondering if their good works are good for anything. James has the answer:

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. …Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:22, 27)

Here, in the middle of a two-chapter treatise on the importance of good works, James takes a breath and seems to gently lower good works into their rightful place: edification and instruction for believers, and providing tangible outcomes for hurting people. The “religion” he speaks of is an outward religion. It is the visible actions of a person whose heart has been rescued and cleansed, and is being continually transformed, by God. Believers can only accomplish this Godly behavior after God imparts his holiness onto them. Thus, good works could never earn holiness; both come from God.

James speaks of good works like looking after orphans and widows as an imperative (“Do what it says”), not because it’s necessary for salvation but because it’s necessary for the orphans and widows. It’s the way a generous, benevolent God provides for his people. Perhaps these selfless good works also help believers not be “polluted by the world,” which seems bent on self-destructive self-gratification. An old hymn describes it like this: 

“Teach us, O Lord, true thankfulness divine/
That gives as Christ gave, never counting cost/
That knows no barrier of ‘yours’ and ‘mine’/
Assured that only what’s withheld is lost.”

Saved by God, a believer is free to be the person God made them to be and do what God made them to do. The outcome of salvation happened 2,000 years ago. Now let’s focus on the outcomes for people who are orphans, widows, homeless and housing insecure, marginalized, oppressed, sick, addicted, vulnerable, incarcerated, and suffering. God has already prepared you and empowered you to direct your good works toward them, to achieve the outcomes God has in mind.

By 1971, the pony-car battle was not fought with cubic inches and drag-pack specials but emissions control equipment. In this arena, the Camaro came out on top. It had a Combined Emission Control valve that eliminated vacuum advance in first and second gear, which, cleverly, didn’t affect acceleration because there’s no vacuum advance during WOT. It also held the throttle partially open during deceleration, an unnerving and irritating effect that nevertheless helped with complete hydrocarbon burn (Ford would revisit this technology in 2011). Outcomes like Trans-Am championships and record-breaking sales were out of the Camaro’s hands. So, it could simply be the good car it was built to be. 

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