Wide Open Throttles

Mike Hosey, An Elder

There’s a saying in the biker culture that goes something like this: “Some pop pills, others tilt bottles, but we solve our problems with wide open throttles.” A throttle is the  human/machine interface on an engine that governs the flow of fuel and air. When a throttle is wide open, say on a motorcycle, or when the pedal is to the metal in an automobile, the greatest amount of air and fuel possible flow into the engine, and it performs at peak. The engine will produce maximum output, and the vehicle will assume maximum speed for the gear that it happens to be in. When bikers cite this bit of wisdom, they are proclaiming that the dismal problems of the world pale in comparison to the exhilaration they experience when they fully commit themselves and their machines to the open road. There’s no doubt that this principle is true across several life areas. Consider the drug addict who

commits his life completely to his habit. When he opens the throttle wide open, the responsible world is drowned out. It pales in comparison (he thinks) to the pleasures of his drugs. The business woman who commits herself fully to her endeavors experiences a ride that drowns out the distractions of all other potential roads. When she opens the throttle wide open, she may end up building an organization that reshapes her economy, and perhaps the economies of multitudes of others.

The bible is full of men and women who lived wide-open-throttle lives. People like Daniel, or John the Baptist, or Paul, or Jesus. Their lives, quite literally changed the world. If you are reading this, you have benefitted -- even if you are not a believer -- from how they lived their lives with throttles wide open. Consider how Paul, the apostle, boasts of his strivings for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 where he shares, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,[b] in cold and exposure.”

His wide open throttle life gave us most of the New Testament, and modeled for us how we can change from something old, to something much better. How open is your throttle?