"The days of our life are seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength. Yet the best of them are only hard work and sorrow. For they are soon gone and we fly away." Psalm 90:10, NLV
In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Warner "Auto-Meter" as optional equipment on his Model T cars. This tool soon became known as the speedometer and included an odometer that tracked how far the vehicle had been driven. By 1920, most vehicles had these.
Over the years, it became obvious that if the odometer readout was lower, the vehicle was worth more! Somewhere in that early automotive horse-trading era, the dubious practise of rolling back the odometer was birthed and flourished with used-car dealers, curbers and sheisters!
This actually became much easier (or so I've heard) with the advent of the reverse drill. Even after the onset of digital odometers in 1976, some fancy "circuit doctoring" could do the deed! Rollbacks became illegal in the USA in 1972.
The concept of rolling back time in our life journey and human psyche is similar to that. We really want to stay young instead of getting old; we see ourselves as worth more that way! So between botox, hair dye, plastic surgery, liposuction, wrinkle filler and skin enhancements, we try to "roll back our mileage" and retain our youth (or at least the appearance of it)!
God's Word tells us that a median average for life expectancy should be about 70 years, with health and strength sometimes stretching that to 80. After that, all bets are off-we're on borrowed time!
A rolled-back odometer doesn't change the age or condition of the vehicle. If it's "on its last legs," it faces the rusty reality of being worn out and ready for the auto-wrecker's "graveyard," no matter what the readout says!
Instead of trying to roll back our own "mileage," a better concept would be to make the best use of these minutes, hours, days and years that we've been blessed with, knowing that there's a time limit on our journey down here.
