Jesus rode a colt. I ride a stallion.

At church this past Sunday, Pastor’s sermon was entitled, “The Donkey, the Dignitary, and the Disciple”. While I’m not sure of the actual message, he did make me think about Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem. The sermon came from Matthew 21: 1-7 (I won’t include it here, but rather challenge you to read it for yourself).

As pastor was talking, he asked, “Why would Jesus choose a donkey to ride into Jerusalem?” I think he even mentioned the word “ass” a time or two. As he talked, I drifted in and out of my own thoughts. What he really got me thinking about was the fact that Jesus rode a donkey. And those thoughts propelled my mind into analyzing how I’m riding.

Recently I’ve been thinking about my truck. I drive a red, 2005 Ford Sport Trac with leather seats, sun roof, four wheel drive, V6 engine, basically fully loaded. I wanted that truck every since it came out. And once I finally got my job, I went out and bought me a brand spankin’ new one. About a week ago, I went to fill it up; it cost me $49 and the tank wasn’t empty. All of sudden, I began to think, “Why in the heck am I driving this gas guzzler?” I began to ponder why I bought my truck in the first place. I knew it was going to take a lot of gas--was very conscious of that--but once I started paying for it, the reality really hit.

So I started thinking, maybe I should trade my truck in for another car. I always liked the Toyota Camry. So I went to look at the new Camry (this is a long story but it has a good message). While at the dealership, I was looking at what I could trade my truck in for and not receive a higher payment. I would save on gas money, considering my truck gets about 14 miles to the gallon and a Camry gets about 24. But when I saw what I would get if I traded my car in, I noticed that in order to maintain the same payment, I would have to lose the leather seats and sun roof and get a pretty standard car. In my mind I’m thinking, I would be downgrading. Then I started to think about my values.

As I was leaving the dealership, the salesman working with us walked us to the car. He pointed to my husband’s ride and said, “Is this yours?” KB replied, “Yes, I love my Altima (2006).” The salesman then said, “Don’t love your car. It depreciates.” Again I thought about my values.

So fast-forward back to the church service on Sunday. Jesus rode a donkey. The donkey got him to where he needed to go. It got the job done. He chose a donkey when he could have chosen any “more important” animal to ride. To Him, it wasn’t about how he was riding, but more about His purpose in what he was doing.

I have put and continue to put a lot of money into my stallion. All I need to do is to be able to get to work, where I serve my purpose in life as a teacher, and get home. I just need a reliable car. Had I chosen a donkey to ride, I could have more money to put in my savings, or more money to put towards my home (a true investment), or more money to pay back my school loans. Just think about how much money people put into cars: rims, tent, stereo systems, televisions, etc. All that money slowly but surely loses value. I mean I do understand that driving a nice car is a reward, a small pleasure for all of the work we do, but . . .

Jesus rode a donkey. Just something to think about.