I was both amazed and saddened at the same time. Last month, I was reading a question-and-answer article on the philosophy of Toyota’s leadership on EVs (Electric Vehicles) or now called BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles).
Coming from a family in the car business back in Georgia in the 1950’s-1980’s, my interest in mechanical vehicles has always been keen. It seems Toyota purchased a Tesla and disassembled it to see if their version of the BEV would be competitive.
The Toyota engineers and upper management marveled at the progress and “internals” of the Tesla and stated it ”…was a work of art.” That was high praise from a seasoned competitor.
What saddened me was a specific term that the author, Nick Fiekowsky, used to describe Toyota’s decision-making in response to this observation: ”...my experience with disruptive technologies suggests that Toyota is under-estimating the inconvenient BEV tsunami that has already risen to their ankles.”
Nick goes on to say, “History may view this decision as the time when Toyota reaffirmed its commitment to failure. Similar to when the Titanic’s officers under-valued their spotter’s iceberg alert and continued forward at full speed. Or Kodak made desultory digital photography efforts on their way to oblivion.”
Throughout the Bible, we see this reaffirming of a commitment to failure from Adam and Eve to Cain, Esau, the wandering children of Israel, Judas, and Lucifer himself. Toyota is, in effect, relatively healthy…today.
But reaffirming their past decisions may have set a direction that will lead to failure. Each of these Bible characters allowed themselves to make choices that ultimately led away from God’s Word and His plan. Pain and devastation were the ultimate result.
Our government reaffirmed its commitment to failure when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “state-sponsored prayer in public schools was unconstitutional” in Engel v. Vitale on June 25, 1962.
The country didn’t implode on that day, but the foundation on which this country was built was now thrown out as unacceptable and unconstitutional. Engel v. Vitale, combined with many other small and steady transitions away from Biblical truth, has guaranteed a country in bondage to ungodliness and darkness.
Godly wisdom is God’s protection against making decisions today that, unbeknownst to us at the time, would reaffirm commitment to failure in our lives, relationships, ministries, and futures. Today, whether a ministry or a person, failing to repent from doing what is “easy” and line up with real Biblical truth is reaffirming commitment to (future) failure.
Our Indian partners, David and Taru Raj Kumar, reaffirm their commitments to success by faithfully carrying God’s word to the blind and needy of rural southern India.
Even with health challenges and despite difficult transportation and teaching accommodations, David presses on with his monthly remote mission trips to touch many of the rural churches and their leaders with the truth of God’s love for the lost Muslim communities.
Taru stays home and cares for the many new children and their families living in the Modi Road “Little Pakistan” slum.
Charl van Wyk, ITMI’s South African partner, touches spiritual and physical needs in many of southern Africa’s most broken and devastated areas.
Currently, Charl is asking all of us to help he and ITMI’s Mark Parris and their other partner Dr. Bradley Kuhn, be God’s hand of help and provision for the flooded Stone Hill (Klipheval) settlement of 50,000 waterlogged and forgotten squatters. Charl, Mark, Bradley, and their team have given us another opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to success.
We can do this by responding to the emergency with help, earning the opportunity to speak the truth once again into the lives of Stone Hill families that have lived lives filled with decisions that reaffirm their commitments to failure. Commitment to God’s truth is a commitment to success in all walks of life.
May we all seek the path of obedience to the Lord’s leading and, in doing so, reaffirm our commitments to success in obeying the Great Commission.
(By the way, I believe the jury is still out on whether the BEV is the answer to our world’s transportation needs.)
In His Service,
