Imagine for a minute you walk into your local grocery store and see two virtually identical packages of cheese right next to each other. the only barely discernible difference? There’s an itsy-bitsy label on one cheese saying it’s sold by a third-party seller. Oh..and it might have some rat poop in it. Sorry ~
This actually isn’t far for the truth as counterfeiters take to the world market to make their bucks! In fact, a major investigation recently revealed that Amazon has listed “thousands of banned, unsafe, or mislabeled products.” Everything from children’s products to electronics.
We’ve probably all seen the counterfeit products sold at open air markets and from street vendors. Everything from fake designer purses, sunglasses, pharmaceutical drugs, and Smart phones – these products are everywhere. So, it shouldn’t really surprise us when our Christmas gets counterfeited as well.
You hear things like – it’s all about the joy…or the tree…the family, the lights..or even Santa. But these are all just garnish to our holiday. Truth be told – it’s all about Jesus Christ. Thus, CHRISTmas! A big clue there!! Jesus is still the reason for the reason!
Myth #1 about counterfeited goods: “You know something is fake when the price is too good to be true.” If you go to a flea market this weekend and find a Coach purse for $15 you can bet it’s not really a Coach purse. It’s counterfeit. Christmas works in much the same way.
Decorate a tree, storm the stores in search of the perfect gift, jazz up your home for festivities — and then party-hardy! But is that it? Was that blur of activity really Christmas? Hardly. Don’t fall for that Xmas scam! The sacrifice that Christ made for us to gain salvation is beyond anything we can pay for. It cost Him His life. As they say – “Salvation is free but it wasn’t cheap!”
Myth #2 about counterfeiting is – “The worst that can happen is that you lose some money.” But fake goods can cause health & safety issues – far worse than lost cash.
Gov’t agencies have reported finding bacteria, human waste, and rodent droppings in counterfeit cosmetics. And some electrical products are so poorly designed that they pose a risk of lethal electrocution.
Again – pushing a fake Xmas works in much the same way. How many people believe they “get’ Christmas when the thought of needing a Redeemer is miles away from their thinking? The ultimate cost? Eternity lost. The ultimate myth is that Christmas is just a cheery holiday when actually it gave us the ultimate ‘gift of a lifetime’ – if said gift is accepted!
Christmas is the good news that the angels brought to the shepherds that cold night over 2000 years ago: “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you which is Christ the Lord…” The’s the real thing!
There’s a story told of Napoleon and his soldiers who conquered an island in the Mediterranean Sea – they had fought hard to take this island. After its capture – at the price of many lives – Napoleon and his generals gathered for a celebration. As they sat around a great table, they were interrupted by a young officer. Napoleon looked
curiously at him, “What do you want?” The young man replied, “Give me this island!” The generals began to laugh – they couldn’t believe he was forward enough to ask Napoleon for this hard won island.
But then Napoleon turned to one of his aids and asked for a pen & paper. He wrote out a deed to the island, signed it, and gave it to the young man – leaving the generals stunned. “How could you do that?” one of them asked. “What made him worthy to receive this great island?” “I gave him this island,” Napoleon replied, “because he honored me by the magnitude of his request.”
Are we asking big enough this Christmas? Are we looking for nicknacks when we could be looking for our Savior? As that famous line from the Grinch goes…”What if Christmas doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?” Think he got it right?
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information., you may contact them at DPCitychuch.org
