By: Jim Taylor

Human nature



I had an interesting exposure to human nature recently.

        It started with a 1982 Jaguar XJ6 sedan. I bought it in 1998, and spent about $14,000 on restoration.

        But that wasn’t enough. Rust started to bubble under my lovely new paintwork; the leather upholstery was cracking and splitting; electrical gimmicks were dying…

        And I knew I wouldn’t spend the additional money the car needed, because two years ago I got seduced by a slightly newer Jaguar.

        For most of a year I advertised the older car without success. I lowered my price progressively from $10,000 to $3,000.

        Only two people inquired. Neither bought.

        I concluded that the car was doing no one any good rusting away in my driveway.

        So I offered to give it away free to a good home.

        I got deluged with calls. My answering machine overloaded. In the first two days, I responded to over 70 calls.

        I told callers – at least in the beginning – that I would decide within two days, and would let them know.



Differing motivations

  In hindsight, the applicants fell into three groups:

• those who really cared about the car itself, and hoped to make it once more a thing of a beauty and a joy to drive.
• those who needed a car (for a variety of heart-tugging reasons) and didn’t care what it was, as long as it didn’t cost them.
• those who thought they were entitled to this car because I had offered to give it away.

        Almost without exception, the first group thanked me for calling back. They regretting not getting the car themselves, but they were glad it had gone to someone with a proven record of restoring cars.
     The second group rarely said thanks. Most, I suspect, wondered why I bothered calling them back if they didn’t get the car.

        The third group – fortunately few – responded with abuse. I had taken away something that they already was theirs. I was told that my offer was a cruel hoax, that I didn’t play fair, that I had lied…

        My wife came home from a trip in the middle of all this. The first call she answered let fly with such a string of foul language that she refused to pick up the phone for the rest of the day.



Typical reactions

 Perhaps I should have anticipated those three responses. They’re characteristic of humans in general.

        For some, the cause, the goal, the purpose, matters. They’re willing to make sacrifices to further that cause. They’re the ones who make a difference.

        Others see life only for what they can get out of it. They’re not dangerous, but neither are they helpful in building a better world.

        And a few believe the world owes them a living. They’re entitled to whatever they want. They become the criminal element – whether professional crooks or amateur troublemakers – in any society.

        Fortunately for all of us, they’re a small minority – if my experience in getting rid of a car is any guide.

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Copyright © 2007 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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