August 2018 - Generics

Generics...Do they work as well as brand name products?  Even if they contain the same ingredients chemically, are they as effective?  Those are questions we often ask in veterinary medicine.  Some generics we know and trust, while others have been proven to be significantly less effective.

In a non-medical sense, I’ve experienced this recently when my ancient Samsung phone battery died.  Going without a phone wasn’t really an option, so I went down to the local shop and bought a replacement battery.   After getting home, I replaced the old battery with the new one and powered on my phone.  Voila!  Works just the same as it did before and only cost $10!  However…a few hours later…I realized the battery would only power my phone for a couple of hours.  Less if I was actively using it.  Now, I have to leave it plugged in to a charger most of the time or it just shuts down.

This generic battery looked the same as the Samsung; same size, same type of battery, supposedly the same strength, but a fifth of the cost of the real thing.  On my next trip to Jo’burg I visited a Samsung store and ordered an authentic replacement battery to get me though till my trip home this winter, when I hope to upgrade my phone.  I just can’t deal with the frustration and reduced effectiveness of the generic till then.  Now, I’m waiting anxiously till my next trip to Jo’burg to pick up the replacement.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”’ Matthew 7:21-23

Unfortunately, many of us also chose to replace God with generics.  On the surface these generic gods may look the same, but I guarantee they won’t work when it comes to our eternal salvation.  What are some of these generic gods?  When we believe Jesus is only one of many ways to get to God, we believe in a generic god (John 14:6).  When we believe that following Jesus means life will be easy and he will bring us material wealth, we believe in a generic Jesus (Acts 14:22). When we believe that going to church and doing our best to do good will get us to heaven, we are following a generic god (Eph 2:8-9).

Why do we choose these generics?  Just as in material cases, they seem cheaper or easier than the real thing and look just as good.  Choosing the real God means we must take up our cross and follow Him.  It requires sacrifices on our part. It is often painful and seems too difficult.  But I will tell you straight, as I tell many of my clients, getting the real thing will be worth it (and often cheaper) in the long run.  Don’t settle for a generic god when the real One is knocking on the door of your heart.