The Little Things DO Count

One of the smallest cars I have is a replica of a 1934 Maytag Toy Racer. These little cars were pretty much at the epicenter of almost all children’s auto racing. Quarter Midgets, Soap Box Derby, and Go Karts all seem to have their heritage on or around the arrival of these cars in the late 1920’s.

The heart of my little car is a 1929 3.4 HP 2-cycle Maytag washing machine engine that was used to power some mother’s washing machine, probably out on a farm, before the days of electricity. It’s hard to believe that a part of the countdown for moms to do the wash used to be mixing the 2 cycle fuel.

Surprisingly, the more than 80 year old engine still runs. The little pop-pop-pop sound of the hit and miss ignition system is distinctive and with just a bit of racing castor oil in the 2 cycle fuel, the engine’s exhaust aroma is fantastic – that is, when it runs. Recently I was giving kids rides at a church event and after a handful of laps around a dirt track with kids in the car, the engine died and refused to come back to life. The foot starter was cranked repeatedly until several of us were exhausted.

Back home I tried a few different diagnostic things and it became clear I had spark but no fuel was getting to the cylinder. Something in the little carburetor was obviously the problem. I took a look on some of the Internet web sites covering these motors and e-mailed an old engine guru who responded that the problem was likely the carb ball bearing. Not having the slightest idea what ball bearing he meant I took the carb off the motor.

When I removed the little tube that goes down into the fuel tank it seemed to have something loose inside that would rattle when I shook it. Something that rattles in an engine is usually not a good thing. Another twist of a cap on the tube and out dropped the source of the rattle - a tiny ball bearing that was about 1/16” in diameter.

The operation of the bearing was immediately obvious. The engine vacuum would pull fuel up this tube around the bearing and then the bearing would drop down into a small seat to seal the fuel in the tube. On each engine revolution the fuel would be sucked up slightly further until eventually this rudimentary pump had fuel flowing into the carb and spraying into the intake. The bearing was like a little heart valve. It was incredibly ingenious and the problem I could imagine was in the old dirty engine…without a fuel filter. Even the smallest piece of dust or sand in the fuel could cause the tiny bearing to not seat properly.

After I cleaned the whole area, I reassembled the carb and after a stomp or two on the starter pedal, the engine jumped to life. Obviously, the culprit was a tiny particle of dirt had kept that bearing from doing its job.

I recall that many times we Christians naturally like to talk more about grace and talk less about sin and its short circuiting effect on our lives. We sometimes overlook that a single sin resulted in Adam and Eve losing their home in the Garden of Eden. One sin kept the Israelites from entering the Promised Land and one sin changed the Psalmist David’s life forever.

We see in the book of Revelation that the church in Ephesus is commended for much of what they did but there was just one thing that was a show stopper. They did not love Jesus as they had at first. 

Just like the little piece of dirt that allowed the fuel in my engine to run back into the tank, instead of going into the cylinder, a single sin can undo the good things of God in our lives and negate the growth, love and victory we have experienced. It can destroy the trust that others have in us and the collateral damage can be vast. The psalmist warns that even our prayers can be hindered by sin in our lives: Psalm 66:18&19 “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.”

But thank God that Jesus made the one time sacrifice for us that we might have a relationship with God. He suffered and died that we might have life everlasting with Him and His Father. The message of first John 1:8 & 9 is simple – Stop kidding yourself about the sin in your life. John writes: “If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

Isaiah puts it similarly in Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Let’s get honest with ourselves and call sin what it is. Let’s try to keep short accounts with God and confess our sin to Him quickly, so we can receive His promised cleansing.

Richard Lewis
Pathway Christian Church
Riverside  CA