In the fall of 1996, I was blessed to get a job offer even before completing my final semester in College. Upon graduating and starting my new gig, I decided to reward myself with a nice Coach briefcase. So I walked into their store on 5th Avenue in New York City and looked around for one. After about a half hour and perusing the store, I changed my mind and I think the prices might have had something to do with that. After telling a friend about the Coach briefcase escapade, she told me she knew someone with a hookup that could get me fake Coach merchandise that looked quite authentic at half price. I jumped at the opportunity and boom, I had my new Coach Briefcase.
Oh my bad, thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had blessed week and are prepared for an amazing weekend ahead. May God's goodness continue to be evident in our lives. Now back to my new briefcase. So there I was carrying it with me everyday to my new job and I received quite a few compliments from friends and colleagues alike. When asked I where I got it from, I lied and told them I got it from the Coach store on 5th Avenue. After a few months, the strap snapped and I decided to get it fixed right away. Back then, Coach had a policy where they repaired their products for free. So to one of their stores I went along with my briefcase to get it fixed for free, or so I thought. Upon entering the store I was greeted by one their reps and told her I wanted my briefcase fixed. She gladly took it with her to the back of the store to have it examined. I was surprised when she came back and told me they weren't going to fix my briefcase for free. Much to my chagrin, I asked why and I'll never forget her reply. She said, "Sorry Sir, but we don't fix fake coach products. You are however welcome to go to the repairman up the block where we send other people who also come here to have their fake Coach products fixed for free."
I'll like us to take a look at this scenario from a Christian perspective. I pray when we all pass from this world and have to meet face to face with our Lord/Savior/Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, we don't hear him say "Sorry, we don't allow fake Christians into my Father's house. However, you are welcome to go to that other place where we send other fake Christians." Remember, while I as able to fool friends and colleagues that my briefcase was authentic, I could not fool the actual makers of genuine Coach products. The same applies to our lives as Christians. We may be able to fool friends, family, colleagues etc that we are real Christians, but we can't fool our Maker who created us and who we are all scheduled to face sooner or later. I pray we all work together and encourage one another to be genuine Christians. That way, when we eventually meet our Heavenly Father, we will hear Him say "Welcome my Child, we've been waiting for you".
Have a great weekend.
Ebenzeri,
Prince Olu
P.S
Also remember that the price we pay for being fake Christians exponentially outweighs the price we pay for being exposed for owing fake merchandise.
