Once upon a time, there could have been several people in a church who drove to services in their Honda cars. They felt a special kinship to the others who drove Honda cars too.
A revival of sorts took place in their church. New people joined church and many people who were members became more active. Many started to look for the source of the revival and the differences between those who responded and those who did not. A few noticed that most of the new people drove Honda cars to church and that most of the members who became more active did too.
No one could explain how driving a Honda car to church could affect one's spiritual condition, but the mere observation of the fact seemed to boost the feelings of pride among Honda owners. Those who did not own Hondas began to feel rejected.
After several days, someone discovered something in the Bible that they thought might explain the connection between owning a Honda and receiving blessings from God. What they found was in:
None of them could believe that, for all these years, they had missed the "truth" that the Honda Accord was mentioned in the Bible. It was even connected with the blessings received on the day of Pentecost. No one could explain what that first-century Honda looked like, or what it was doing in the upper room, or how 120 people fit into the same one, but their feelings told them this was the "truth" they had been looking for.
Their confidence was given a boost by the fact that the word "accord" was found in the original King James Version spoken by Jesus and all of the apostles (or so they thought). Many of the new "altered" translations did not use the same word.
Due to this newly revealed truth they decided to rename their church as the First United Church of Honda Owners.
Those who did not own, or drive, Hondas were made to feel unwanted, so many quit coming to church and a few started another church. They knew the scripture did not teach anything about Hondas. They didn't want anyone to think they believed such a ridiculous doctrine, so they taught that it was wrong to drive to church in a Honda. They became known as the Church of Non-Honda Owners.
If anyone else questioned either group about its strange doctrine, they were rejected as if they were questioning their faith and Christianity. After all, they knew by experience the blessings God has given to those who obey their doctrine.
Do you have a "Honda" in your doctrine. Many do. It may be the length of hair, the kind of cloths, education, race, age, wealth, sex, or hundreds of other personal convictions that have found their way to becoming inflexible doctrines. The biggest error in this kind of action is that it limits God by teaching people He only works in some limited fashion. The people then reject many of the avenues God uses to give them guidance and help in life.
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