Car Troubles

By James Tealy • Apr 6th, 2009 • Category: Artists in Residence

I’ve had car troubles again 3 times this week. I suppose the troubles are less with the car and more with my ego. I’ll admit something risky here…I own a Lexus SUV. As I was pulling into a show last weekend a woman from the church came out to greet and us and immediately said, “The music industry must be treating you well.” I immediately jumped into my 2 stock minute justification speech. After the third comment from someone after a worship gathering Sunday morning I finally just said, “Yes, it has!”

The truth is I wrestled with this purchase for three months before I made it 16 months ago. All summer I searched used car listings for something that would pull the trailer and comfortably seat the three of us for long and often overnight road trips. What i found was a 9 year old Lexus with over 100,000 miles on it for $10,000.

My problem is not that I AM poor or that I AM rich but that something about our culture suggests that it is better for me to LOOK poor. It is now a 10 year old car with 135,000 miles on that I found a great price on but it LOOKS fancy. It’s not anyone else’s problem. It’s mine. I want to enjoy the lifestyle of the wealthy but carry the image of the poor struggling minister.

Below the surface of all that, I’m just a self-involved songwriter struggling to make $300 car payments and getting lost on the back roads of Georgia. All the while hoping everyone will like me, everyone will think of me as the model of humility and servanthood. How about if I stop washing it? Will you like me better?

↓ 2 comments

#1 JamesTealy.com » Blog Archive » The Hardest Step to Land on April 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pm

[...] a blog I’ve written about life on the road has landed on Soul-Audio. You can read it here at SOUL-AUDIO.COM. Spend some time looking around their site and you’ll find a great source for music news and [...]

#2 Cindy on April 9th, 2009 at 6:53 pm

Owning a Lexus doesn’t mean you’re rich – it means you’re smart. Consumer Reports rates them very highly. I think the lady’s comment was inappropriate, but perhaps she didn’t mean anything by it.

And if your career makes you rich, wonderful! Blessings from above! King Solomon didn’t drive a Ford Focus.

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