I Don’t Do Knockoffs

Jeremiah 17:9-10

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”

So many times you hear people say “Follow your heart.” If only we followed the voice of God and got into His Word, we would save ourselves from a lot of unnecessary troubles. Sometimes we need to be saved from ourselves… saved from our own thoughts, our inner demons, and our own understanding. That’s where I am and though it’s not an easy thing to go through, it’s necessary to get to God’s expected end.

My pastor spoke about getting to the root of the things that are holding us back in life. He encouraged us to stop picking at the leaves but to dig deep so that we expose the root of the problems and destroy them for good. This very idea guided my prayers that day and I began to ask God to expose the real reason I’ve had to endure certain things. Why wasn’t I able to see this clear in the beginning and why didn’t I have enough understanding to stop it?!

As God always does, He meets us where we are. I heard Him clearly say, “Counterfeit.” I ran the word through my mind a bunch of times trying to understand and suddenly it became clear. I thought about what the word meant and how I felt about it. God was reminding me how turned off I am by anything fake. I mean anything!! You see, I’m a shopper. I believe I was born to do it! So naturally God answered me in a way that I could associate meaning to His Word.

Here’s the definition of counterfeit: “made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive; forged; insincere, feigned; imitation… Synonyms: bogus, fake, false, forged, inauthentic, phony (also phoney), queer, sham, snide, spurious, unauthentic”

It’s one thing to purchase something that is fake but not intending it to mislead anyone to believe it’s real. For example, you know costume jewelry when you see it (I own plenty of it.) No one’s trying to pass it off as David Yurman. You can distinguish a leather bag by Kenneth Cole from those you’d purchase at Aldo (not real leather!)  …and I own both.

When I say that I don’t do counterfeit, I don’t do “Louis Vuitton” bags you buy on the street corner. I don’t wear red bottoms that don’t come with a custom shoe bag and the name Louboutin attached. To put it bluntly, I don’t do knockoffs. I don’t try to look like I have what I really don’t. If purchasing REAL designer items is going to be strain on my quality of life, I’m fine with no-names! So God said, “if you don’t wear knockoffs, why would you associate with knockoffs?!” POW!

So here’s the lesson… men and women alike, there are people in this world that look the part but aren’t… they’re knockoffs! If you’re cool with playing them off as the real deal and can be happy with that then by all means go for it! But if you genuinely want the real deal, you must improve your understanding of what makes someone the real deal… God’s way. Even with the best intentions, we are human and we can be fooled. That’s why we need a relationship with God! Allow Him to lead despite of what you feel or what it looks like!

Even when we go after something that looks to be perfectly packaged, after some time the wear and tear will reveal its true worth. To the naked eye, knockoffs can pass for designer, especially if you don’t know that real designer items have distinct stitching, custom colors, and even serial numbers in some cases. If you aren’t well versed on what to look for, it’s easy to be deceived. I’m trying to save you from ever having to go through the wear and tear by having you avoid buying into it all together!

We often aren’t mature in the areas we need to be in order to walk away from situations we label as “God’s blessing.” We allow something counterfeit to pass as something real. Thankfully, when we have a heart for God, He won’t let us go out like that! He will move on the hearts of man to reveal themselves even when they don’t want to. He’ll even move on our own hearts to allow us to see with fresh eyes and give us the strength to move forward. Knockoffs will eventually show themselves to be fake… the die will run off, the threading will unravel, and the metal will soon turn your skin green.

For those who are cool with rocking with the counterfeit, by all means continue. Just know that in the end you’ll end up having to replace it many times over the years and spending quadruple the cost. In this case, the cost is defined as your time, your emotions, your purpose, etc. For those that desire to have the real deal, make sure you know the defining qualities to look for. To put it all in context, just because something looks or feels good doesn’t mean it’s of God. Don’t let “good” get in the way of God’s best. Study His Word, mature in your understanding of how God works, and don’t sell yourself short by settling for counterfeit. You deserve the real deal!!

Be BOLD

Be FABULOUS

BE YOU!!

Tuesday’s with Bianca!