Whopper King and Benny's

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:42-49 ESV). If you take your summer vacation in Bogota, Colombia, you'll see a lot of restaurants and products that remind you of the USA. You'll find Dunkin' Donuts and Pizza Hut. But you'll also find places like Whopper King, Friday's, and Benny's, eating places which imitate the well-known US franchises Burger King, TGI Friday's, and Ben & Jerry's. Benny's has the same type of sign, the same dairy cow motif, and even many of the same Ben & Jerry's ice cream names. But there is a big difference, quality. Ben & Jerry's version of Cherry Garcia has cherry ice cream and chunks of chocolate and cherries. But according to one reporter, the Benny's version is "a bland mix of artificial-tasting ice cream and candied cherries." Clothing companies are doing the same, producing cheap copies of athletic shoes or jeans and sticking a popular brand name on them. According to Myriam Henao of the Universidad del Valle in Bogota, "Acquiring [the] label becomes more important than having the quality of the genuine item." A similar tactic is being carried out throughout the world in the most unlikely places--among people who wear the label "Christian." It happens every time people talk and act as if they were strong believers, when actually they seldom open their Bible. They don't even think about praying or applying biblical principles to the way that they behave or how they work on the job. What label do you and I wear? Do we profess to be more than we are so that we can fit in with the church crowd and make people happy? Or are we serious enough about our faith in Christ to be honest when we face spiritual struggles? Are we concentrating on obeying Christ in every area of life? Let's not give ourselves a label unless we have the quality to go with it.