Vanity Plates

Vanity plates. I always get a kick out of trying to figure out why some people have the vanity plates that they have. Sometimes it’s very obvious and sometimes not so much. I drive an hour to work each day and come across so many cars that my chances of seeing vanity plates are probably higher than yours. I saw one yesterday that said “BIGKNTRY” and was attached to a Dodge 2500 Ram pickup truck. As I drove past, the teenager wasn’t as big as I thought he was going to be. I wonder how many guys were called “Big Country” among their friends in rural America?

I still can’t figure out the appeal of owning vanity plates. I guess it may help you make sure you get in the right car if you drive a car similar to everyone else. It’s not like you can see the plates while you’re driving!  People also judge you right away based upon what your plates may say. I guess it’s all just vanity.

Solomon had a lot to say about vanity in Ecclesiastes, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.” - Ecclesiastes 1:14.  “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 2:11.

We all have some level of vanity in our lives and I think it differs at different ages. When we are younger we worry about the clothes we wear and the cars we drive. As we get older we start to make sure we have the right house and our cars might still be important. But as we come to the later years in life, like Solomon, we look back and agree that it was all just vanity and chasing of the wind.

If you have vanity plates please don’t take offense, I have nothing against them, they’re just not for me. But we all have some level of vanity in our lives, take a second and reflect if there is anything in your life that seems like you are just chasing the wind.

Have a great day and God bless.