The Temperate Truck
The Land Rover Defender has a special place among military-chic rock-hoppers, an automotive genus populated by the Ford Bronco, International Harvester Scout, and Mercedes-Benz G-wagon. Like those, it can be crude and practical or so “bespoke” with aftermarket luxury trinkets as to become impractical. Perhaps it wouldn’t be that way if they didn’t look so darn good wearing air intake snorkels AND big, dumb, chrome rims. But the Defender can’t be blamed for this, for the one reason why it stands apart from the competition: it is temperate.
“Temperate,” a word not readily found in the 21st-century American lexicon, is a one-word summary of that very British “stiff-upper-lip” zeitgeist. In American, it translates to “It don’t change.” The enduring Defender, especially ones produced up until 1997, was the model fans could point to whenever critics said Land Rover had gone soft. It has become the spirit animal of the entire brand. For decades, it could mix it up with the best off-roaders because it was cooked with the same ingredients: A low-range transfer case. Locking differentials. Body-on-frame construction. Log axles. The quaintness of restrained British design. And, sure, a radio that only worked on Thursdays during El Nino.
The Defender, or Temperate Tank, was a still stone in a river while wars, environmental catastrophes, and political upheavals flowed around it. It was always the right tool for the job, by virtue of its construction.
In the Bible, “temperate” is used to describe “overseers,” or bishops, elders, or leaders in general:
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” (1 Timothy 3:1-2)
The Greek word for temperate is “nephaleos,” which can also mean sober or alert. Author Gene A. Getz, in his seminal classic “The Measure of a Man,” described it this way:
“He was describing Christ-followers who have a clear focus on life and who don’t live in a constant state of anxiety because of world conditions. In other words, temperate biblical Christians don’t lose their physical, psychological, and spiritual orientation.”
A heart oriented toward its maker will inform a person’s direction, even with an infinite number of horizons. It will provide stability in terrain too inhospitable for the preferences of most humans. It will lean and list toward distractions and desires as it struggles to maintain stability and sobriety, and God will see that effort and faith and send his power and grace according to his wisdom.
Your creator built your heart to be capable. He has been training it to be alert and compassionate. Although God alone can live up to the most perfect levels of temperance, he inspires his people to follow. Think of God’s character. Think of the Land Rover Defender. No, not the one in pieces in your garage with windshield wipers that only work while you hold down the horn, but the Defender essence, the icon. It is stiff and stoic, yet surprisingly sensitive.
Odds are, you’ve gone your whole life without hearing “temperate” spoken in normal conversation. Let’s change that. Next time you see a Defender, describe it – out loud – as temperate. People will raise eyebrows, but tell them it’s similar to tempered glass, which is useful when you’re bushwhacking around miry north England bogs.
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