Authentic

By

B.J. Knefley

Which do you prefer, authentic products or knockoffs? Probably most of us want the real deal especially if we can get it at a knockoff price. But it doesn’t work that way does it? We often can’t tell the difference between the real deal or the authentic from the knockoff. That’s why they do it. Make things so that they resemble the authentic for a fraction of the cost so that a bigger profit can be gained. The problem is it’s deceptive and dishonest, yet we buy into it all the time.

Read the news and you will find story after story of someone who swindled multitudes of people out of lifesavings and investments. Offering high yields and seemingly authentic merchandise, scores of people flock to the promise of a deal. Yeah, we all know how that ends don’t we. Even employers have been duped into hiring people who presented work histories and education certificates that were bogus. It makes me wonder how old is this game that is played on unsuspecting people? Is it as old as time?

It is said that the great deceiver is Satan himself. More cunning than any other, it is also said he roams the earth looking for whom he can devour, (I Peter 5:8). Why? Is it about power and position? What causes a person to seek after the counterfeit rather than the authentic. It happens everywhere. Business, government, families, relationships and yes, even in the Church. Perhaps that’s where the biggest problem lays. In the places that are sacred we trust that we won’t be swindled, that we’ll be led in a way that’s good and not evil. But it still happens.

Following Christ seems simple enough. Love your neighbor as yourself, seek first His Kingdom, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Instead, we go after other things like money, prestige, position, and significance. We sell our soul to things rather than the God of all things. We reject the authentic and embrace the knockoff. Like Adam and Eve, we buy into what we think is better just because we don’t listen. When will we ever learn? Think about it.