Mom didn’t want it.  She didn’t want to discourage me by speaking out against it, but she was nervous about the whole idea.  Being much older now, I can understand Mom’s concern.  She was afraid I might get hurt – maybe even badly so.

You see, through a friend at church I had developed an interest (can I say deep desire, or obsession) with buying a motorcycle.  My friend was probably 20 years older than me and he rode a Harley.  My desire was not nearly so grand, I mean, I was looking at a little Honda 90.  I was a Senior in High School, working at a gas station, and I needed transportation.

But motorcycles can be dangerous – even little ones.  Therefore my Mom was anxious, maybe even afraid for me.  However, you know how possessed a young person can be when they really want something and think they are old enough to handle it.  It consumes all their thoughts.  It even can invade their prayers.  That desire can absolutely dominate you.  It’s kind of like a story Stan Toler told.

He said, “There’s a chain of doughnut stores in Oklahoma called Daylight Donuts.  Best in the west!  In fact, it’s hard to find a parking place in the mornings at Daylight Donuts.  One Monday morning, I found myself in spiritual warfare.  ‘Do I stay true to my diet, or do I go to Daylight Donuts for a blueberry, cream-filled doughnut and a diet Coke?’  I began to pray, ‘Lord, You know how busy Daylight Donuts is this time of day.  If You want me to have a doughnut, you just make a parking spot available right in front of the store.’  Don’t you know, the seventh time around the block, a miracle parking spot opened up right in front of the door!  I believe in miracles!”

That’s about where I was in terms of my desire for a motorcycle.

Now there is nothing intrinsically wrong with motorcycles.  Mine served a good purpose for me at that time of my life.  But my obsession with wanting one points out a concern.  In truth, we can become so fixated on something, maybe something that might not be really good for us, that we aren’t observing some other things.  We might ignore problems that obtaining our desire might generate for us.  The thing itself may not be bad, but it might not be the wisest or best choice either.

1 Corinthians 10:23 in the Contemporary English Version says, “Some of you say, ‘We can do whatever we want to!’ But I tell you not everything may be good or helpful.”  Then verse 24, following up on that, says, “None of you should be looking out for your own interests, but for the interests of others” (GNT).

Obsessed on what we want has often led us away from being open to the concerns of others.  It can be very selfishly oriented.  We can get so caught up in just thinking about our desire, that we don’t even think about how this obsession is affecting others.  I now recognize that I should have given more thought to the agony of concern I was causing my Mom by my absorbed desire.  As a parent who has experienced some of the same agony myself, I now understand the need of wisdom and tender loving care in our choices.

Just a Thought