Priority Shift
The BMW Z3 M Roadster was the quickest BMW ever built when it debuted in 1998. Sprinting to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds, the little two-seater made a big impact. Credit goes to the E36 M3, which donated its 3.2-liter 240-horsepower inline-six engine and 5-speed manual transmission.
Converting BMW’s smallest car into one of its top performers required a lot of changes. The M Roadster got dual exhaust (and quad exhaust tips, which were a hallmark of M cars of the era), requiring a passenger-side muffler where a spare tire normally sits. So the spare tire was replaced by a little tire sealer kit and an electric pump, and the trunk floor was restamped. To allow the bigger exhaust openings, the rear bumper was cut, displacing the license plate to the trunk… which is where the BMW badge normally resides, so it was relocated onto the top of the rear deck.
Was this necessary? If you’re curious and have roughly three hours to kill, ask a BMW fan. They would be delighted to discuss the finer points of exhaust flow, brand identity, and 1990s automotive production methods.
But the whole switcheroo of moving parts offers a metaphor for the change a lot of people sense when they begin to believe in God for the first time. Maybe they’re sitting in a church pew during Christmas and hear “the words of Isaiah the prophet” from Isaiah 40:3, quoted in Luke’s Gospel:
“A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Luke 3:4)
This preparation and reprioritizing is supposed to be a celebration. Yet for a brief moment, a new believer has a feeling to which, admittedly, plenty of lifelong Christ-followers can relate. It’s a sense of obligation, that here’s yet one more thing in their lives they need to make a priority. It’s that high school student stress, where eight teachers in eight disciplines expect you to make their area of study your top priority – along with your track coach, baseball coach, clarinet tutor, speech and debate coach... Meanwhile, the health and fitness influencers tell you to “Exercise like your life depends on it, because it does!” Then there’s your job, and your family, each of which should be your top priority, and on top of this your pastor or youth leader references one of these verses, and you have to move everything around and readjust again.
Only one thing in your life can be your top priority at any one given time. Thankfully, you don’t have to choose.
Because you can’t.
At some point, you may have assumed that you possess the autonomy and control to pick what gets top priority in your life. At some point, you may also, unfortunately, have discovered how little control you have. Like when your car broke down or got destroyed by a drunk driver, and your top priority became a new mode of transportation – or reconstructive surgery. Maybe Covid or cancer entered your life through the body of someone you love. Maybe you woke up with a regret that reoriented your view of life itself.
Those moments necessitate making God a priority in your life. Most people reprioritize something after calamity. Your pastor or youth leader was just passing along the spirit of urgency originally written by Luke and motivating Isaiah, to start the preparation now, and establish a relationship with an almighty God who is ready to reprioritize and reorient your life. And who, as it turns out, is much more than someone to call on when some evil reprioritizes your life.
With a wheelbase 10 inches shorter than the M3’s, the M Roadster was a bit of a handful. It was like a little Cobra with an inline-six and a German accent. Yet the M3 was also available as a convertible for the first time, and was easily the more practical option. Seeing them side-by-side on the showroom floor and picking just one would be a painfully difficult choice. So which one should you drive home? It all depends on your priorities.
