Not #Blessed
Ford’s prized pony car was just 20 years old when the 1984 Mustang GT350 debuted. Nearly 40 years later, scores of great Mustangs have come and gone, but the 1984 GT350 – a trim-and-paint special – isn’t one of them.
Available as a fastback or convertible and powered by either the high-performance 302 V8 or turbo 4-cylinder, all 20th Anniversary GT350s were Oxford White with maroon stripes. Inside were SVO-style seats and an all-maroon interior. The “GT350” nameplate was exhumed after a 14-year dirt nap, and Ford had it emblazoned all over the car. But conspicuously absent was the name of the man who fathered the original GT350: Carroll Shelby. Shelby was busy punching his card across town, at the Chrysler Corporation, and had nothing to do with the 20th Anniversary GT350’s development. He wouldn’t get to put his name anywhere near the car, and buyers wouldn’t get his stamp of approval.
The 20th Anniversary GT350 isn’t a bad car, but without Shelby’s blessing, it doesn’t really belong in the echelon of Shelby Mustangs. It’s kind of like when doing the right thing and doing a good thing don’t exactly line up. In the Bible, Peter can relate. Remember when he chopped off the ear of a servant within the posse of people who came to arrest Jesus?
“When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with our sword?’ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:49-51)
Among the four Gospels, John alone attributes the action of “one of them” to Peter (“Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’” John 18:11), which puts the whole scenario into perspective. Peter was operating on pure animal instinct, with a sword in hand and face to face with a mob of enemies, in the dark of night. He was also operating on human instinct, with wounded emotions after Jesus had predicted Peter’s denial (Luke 22:31-34) and had chastised him for falling asleep during prayer time (Luke 22:46). Human instinct is a lot like animal instinct, but it’s strongly informed by strong emotion. A person can come to a decisive conclusion while operating on either instinct, just like a car company can build a decent car without the blessing of a certain Texan. But it won’t be #blessed.
Humans operating on human instinct have done a variety of impressive things, like constructing the Tower of Babel, inventing organized crime, starting wars, and building the Nissan Murano Cross Cabriolet. If a human need can be met, humans have found a way to meet it. Some folks shrug and excuse their pleasure-seeking ways and say “I’m just a human operating on impulses that evolved to advance the species,” and they’re totally right.
But actions that are truly #blessed by God – the “cup” Jesus prepared himself to take – are different. They may align with human instinct, or they may painfully oppose it. They may stretch a person beyond their perceived limits or take them outside of their comfort zone. Like when the original Mustang ponycar was #blessed by the hands of Carroll Shelby and taken beyond its ponycar limits into sports car territory as the Shelby GT350. It became something greater.
So can you. It takes fearless self-knowledge and self-transparency. Be prepared to pray constantly, read a lot, journal faithfully, and talk openly with trustworthy people. You’re trying to answer the question “Do I want to do [fill in the blank] because it satisfies my human instinct, or because I want to do what God has #blessed me to do?” The action itself is up to God. But carrying it out is up to you.
In 1984, the turbo-four Mustang made 175 horsepower (which increased to 205 horsepower for 1985), at a time when the 302 was worth 200 horsepower. Shelby was tinkering around with turbo technology in the Dodge Omni GLH and GLH-S. He could have done great things with the turbo Mustang. Even decades later, driving one could make a person feel pretty #blessed.
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