It has taken this soul 55 years of living and decades of wrestling through life to discover an insight that is starting to transform my way of thinking and processing who I am, how I will live, where I am going and what I do. The bottom line? Examine everything in my life for counterfeits.
For most, it may seem clear that I have a life of faith. Faith isn't a blind trust in God, at least mine is not, for I believe I am a man of reason attempting to find absolute truth. I question everything including God and His existence. He has answered my queries with absolute sufficiency, but for now, this blog isn't about this. However, I believe the God of the universe has opened my eyes to discover this 'truth'.
A counterfeit, according to Dictionary.com is something that is made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine. It's second definition is, pretend, unreal. As I look around, I find myself being fooled less and less by the counterfeits of this world. Less attracted to and participating in the enjoyment of being led into fraudulent living, and thankfully, now looking back, realize that I have been led towards truthful living as I have followed and pursued the true God. For there is a counterfeit god. He was given power and is even free to go about producing his counterfeit ways of rebellion and living that could lead many astray should they accept his counterfeits in life and living.
Think about it. God says He is light. He created a heavenly being, Lucifer who is the angel of light and who was given power and leadership but chose to rebel and lives as a counterfeit to his creator. Why does an all powerful God allow such a heinous being infect our world and forge deceptive, fraudulent realities into it? Because, if we diligently seek truth, decipher who really rules our world and whose power is above all others, we will not fall to such deception.
There are counterfeits to everything in life. A counterfeit love seeks only personal pleasure and the happiness that is seen through the world's eyes. Think about it. If this kind of love is what we seek, when the pleasure runs out, or a new, more exciting one appears in our radar, we give up the old and move toward the apparent greater pleasure and happiness. It becomes the quest of seeking the same pleasure we found in the first or early experience, akin to what I understand as the quest of drug user trying to rexperience their first 'high' with their body and mind never to have that again, because of its desensitization being exposed to the damage of the drug. The quest for increasing pleasure, requiring increasing doses of the drug. If the pursuit of this fraudulent experience becomes etched in the soul, it will become all this soul seeks, and as we know, end with disastrous consequence, ruining lives of those loved, robbing the user of their real life and pleasure, the true life with all it's highs and lows.
There can be other counterfeits to good aspects in life. Seeking wealth, climbing the corporate ladder, becoming well known and well loved, believing our current troubles stem from our bad childhood, believing reality shows are real, even steeping our lives in cyberspace. While there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, climbing the corporate ladder, becoming well know and well loved, or while the truth of a bad childhood, or the amusement found in reality shows can be entertaining, there can be a deception, a fraud that creeps into our lives if we lose sight of the rich and powerful values that should drive us and our thinking.
I know many wonderful people who have much more 'money' than Carrie and I, they not hoarding it, but using it to do God honoring and wonderful things in the life of others. Some of these have climbed the corporate ladder, but not at the expense of others, rather cherishing cohorts, valuing and respecting bosses, some, even when they did not deserve valuing. I have experience the joy and satisfaction they have in living humbly, not in excess. They wrestle with value, what is important in life and living finding it not in the stuff or the quality of stuff they own, rather the relationships and lives that God brings them around.
They have much, give much and are satisfied living with much less than they could have if their hearts were only bound to this world. The best of these have joined the fight, much like Carrie and I to seek truth, seek real value and the real joys of life. No, none of us are what others might consider 'perfect', but we fight toward perfection.
True love seeks deep and meaningful growth, cherishing trials and finding strength in getting through them together, as a married couple or as a group of people. A true love is one forged of commitment, standing the test of time and trouble discovering that beauty isn't in the physical at all, but rather in the depth of connection, found in endurance and trust.
For everything good, everything right, everything pure, everything holy there is a counterfeit, Something that looks, feels and even seems like the real thing. Something that is so close to right we believe it to be the true and real object. There is a counterfeit god. There is a danger in filling our lives with counterfeit love, pleasure and living. If we do not fight to see or recognize the fraud before us, our minds can become so numb to them that we end up living and believing we enjoy a counterfeit filled life. If it were blatant, we surely would not pursue it. No, it is so close to the true and reality of life and living that we cannot see it unless we carefully seek the truth. The only way to not be taken by counterfeits is to counter fight against being taken by such fraud. I have even done such with God Himself, having found Him full of honor and truth; whose character and nature expose everything counterfeit, transforming my heart and thoughts toward reality and a way of living that I hope, display His character for all to see.
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