A genuine counterfeit

I just got back from a holiday to China, and one of the most amusing things I saw was the counterfeit goods!  At a bag shop, I saw Miu Miu's twin Min Min.  And Kate Spade's best friend Kete.  On an escalator in a shopping mall, I saw the guy standing in front of me wearing New Balance's Chinese cousin New Balun.  I wanted to take a picture, but thought better of it in case, you know, I get beat up by the guy.  Then of course there was the Star Wars extended family of Space Wars, Star Wart (yes really), and Star Wnrs - as the internet meme says, truly, a winner is you :D

What puzzles me is this - the counterfeits are actually pretty realistic.  To my untrained eye, I can't tell the difference between the real thing and the fake.  Since the manufacturers have gone to all that trouble to make the bag or shoe or lego sets look real, why do they bother coming up with a brand name that's just a little different?  

Why not go all the way and copy the name properly too?  Is there like a shred of integrity they can't let go of, so that they can say, hey I copied everything, but at least I didn't copy their name (well most of it anyway)?

I don't think so.  In fact the use of the warped label is an even more obstinate level of dishonesty - copying the genuine article, and then farcically refusing to admit that it's a copy!

There's a life lesson here you know.  How many people have we met who curse, cheat, and just generally misbehave, and then somehow turn up in church a couple of times a year (often at Christmas and Easter) and say hey look, I'm a Christian!  So, a non-Christian in every respect, except the label.

But we generally think of ourselves as not being foul-mouthed, dishonest rogues.  What about when we just live our normal lives, try to be good, try to be honest, and, you know, sort of fit in with everyone else.  On weekends we go to church, and we may even attend small groups of other Christians.  

But no one outside church knows the primacy of Christ in our lives.  We agree with non-Christian ideals, because they're popular social ideals.  Divorce is ok, abortion is ok, some low-level and occasional dishonesty is ok.  So, we look just like anyone else, except the label.

I look at myself and ask - where are the areas in which I look like a non-Christian, but just stick a Christian label on myself?  In the office?  At home?  When I go out with my friends?  

If I don't look like a non-Christian, then I might as well go all the way, and change my label to non-Christian.  At least there's some honesty there!  Don't deceive myself and mislead others into thinking I am Christian if I am not - that's even worse.  Because as long as I don't acknowledge the problem of self-deceit, I cannot solve it.

But if I choose to bear the label of Christian, then this must be consistent with who I actually am, and evident to all.  Do my family members see the consistency of my conduct with my faith - in prayer, reading the Bible, and in my conduct?  Do my friends and colleagues know I am a Christian?  It's easy to do the right thing in black and white situations - do they see that in grey situations, Christ shines through in my decision making?  Do they know that the way I live is because of Christ?  Do they see that Christ is good?

Unlike the counterfeit bag that bears Min Min instead of Miu Miu, at least let me recognise where my behaviour is inconsistent with the labels I bear.  And then resolve to change that!

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