Confession time. I have finally succumbed and bought myself one of those slippers/shoes with its trademark holes that provide lots of ventilation.The fad here is Singapore probably started about a year ago, where the price of these slippers were close to S$60 each. Now a pair costs about S$50 each, so I decided to get one for myself.
The one I chose is called Hydro, and is more formal because it is not open-heeled. I even bought a soccer and smiley button, and letters that form the words "ASTON VILLA".
You must have heard of the phrase "imitation is the best form of flattery". Because of the popularity of this footwear, imitation versions started to spring up everywhere, and you can probably buy a pair at a "pasar malam" for slightly above $10 each. There are however high risks that come with these counterfeit products because the motive of these pirates is purely profit. There is no element of quality control at all. We have read stories in the newspapers about cases where children had their slippers stuck in elevators, and one of them even had her toe nearly ripped off. Chances are these kids were wearing the fake versions, because the real ones would have been subjected to very stringent measures. After all, the head office is in Colorado, USA and we know how strict the legislation in that country is.
I went to their website and here is a write-up on their trademark Croslite™...
Croslite™, a proprietary Closed Cell Resin (PCCR) which is NOT plastic NOR rubber. Croslite™ is closed-cell in nature and anti-microbial, which virtually eliminates odor. It is an extraordinary impact absorbing resin material developed for maximum cushioning. Its closed cell properties resist odor, inhibits bacterial and fungal growth and are nontoxic. This versatile material can be worn next to skin and be cleaned with just soap and water.
Aah.. So that's why it costs S$50 and not S$10...
Which reminds us to beware of counterfeits, and I can think of at least 3 areas for this.1. The Gospel
The real gospel of Jesus Christ is that of grace and finished work of the cross. Any other gospel is counterfeit. We read in Gal 1:6-9 how Paul admonished the church in Galatia for doing so...
Gal 1:6-9 No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
I have written a separate blog entry on this topic.
2. Love
Real love is the unconditional one that God demonstrated to us. Any other kind of "love" is not genuine and will not stand the test of time.
3. Intimacy
The real kind of human intimacy is that which is to be shared between a husband and his wife. The devil has perverted intimacy with other forms, such as fornication (between unmarried persons), adultery (between persons not married to each other), incest (between relatives), homosexuality (between those of the same gender), bestiality (between human and animal), necrophilia (with a dead person) etc. These will not bring fulfillment, because sex was created by God for humans to connect at 3 levels -- physically, emotionally and spiritually. The 3rd dimension will be missing if it is not carried out according to God's design.
Shalom
Malcolm
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