This last Sunday I was with another pastor and I was trying to convince him that he needed to trade in his car for a motorcycle. His wife laughed at me when I made that statement and she said “where would he put all of his stuff?” “Exactly!”, was my response. I tried to convince him that this was one of the reasons why he needed a cycle. You see with motorcycle, as much as you try, you can not take a lot of extras with you.

While I am on the bike I try to focus on simplicity. Take only what is necessary. Don’t burden yourself with stuff that does not matter. If you take a five day journey, you can not take five days worth of clothes and supplies. You can not take your favorite pillows, blankets and hair products. Does this mean you have to wear dirty cloths?

No! That just means you might have to let others help and you need to understand you can only handle so much. You might need to wash your cloths at a friends house or God forbid wear the same thing twice in one week. Sharing might have to be in your vocabulary. I have needed to borrow and share a Bible, pillow, blanket, towels, and even a pen. I didn’t take with my computer mouse, extra books I won’t read or a comb.

So I go light…less burden…less clutter…less stuff.

This makes me think about how much other stuff I carry that I don’t need just because I think I have the space in my vehicle. Things like the burdens or concerns of others or an overscheduled life. We keep saying yes I can handle more. We pack more into our schedule, we take on other people’s drama, we add more to our to do lists, and we just keep throwing more in the trunk.

But soon like everyone we get overwhelmed and burdened by all the stuff that is in our vehicle of life. Then all of sudden you have a lot of stuff in your back seat. Why? Because you thought you had the space, but all you have now is a mess. But not on a motorcycle. You can only carry so much. You deal with one thing at a time, then move on to the next. Big things you have to leave up to someone else to carry…God.

You see at the end of the day you can only do what you can do. You can only physically, spiritually, and emotionally carry so much in your life if you live it on a motorcycle. Jesus put it this way for His followers in Mark 6:7-13, “when you are on your journey take nothing with you. Don’t burden yourself and trust that others will take care of you. ”

I think this is a good lesson from the Vulcan.