I suppose it’s been close to 10 years now. Not absolutely sure it’s true, but the story goes like this. A group of high school kids, as an experiment, decided to see if they could make and pass off counterfeit money produced with a scanner and high-quality color printer. When they found out they could, they did.

Of course, that’s not legal, even if it works. For a couple of weeks, it had the Desoto County, MS area in something of a tizzy. Once discovered by the authorities, they started trying to chase the source down. On the other hand, when the merchants and banks found out, they started checking the money they received with a fine tooth comb.

To be sure, when just a few start making their own money, to some extent, we all suffer. There are reasons for this. If it is permitted to continue, it devalues the currency. Foreign countries are less likely to honor the real stuff. Besides, it’s all just plain wrong, even if it is an experiment.

Throughout the history of our country, there have been folks trying to make money, the wrong way. We are supposed to go out and get a job, not print it. Unfortunately, money is not the only thing around that folks try to counterfeit. Certainly, works of art signatures, watches, and would you believe, purses are just a few things that people try to copy well enough to pass off as originals. Selling Rolex watches that aren’t made by Rolex have been the plot of many a story. Not being an expert, I don’t know how prevalent that is. However, can you imagine spending a thousand dollars for a watch that is nothing but a knockoff. Worse yet, the thing might not even keep good time. (in itself, that would be a blot on Rolex)

This begs the question, why do people counterfeit? For what purpose do they go to such great lengths to defraud their fellow citizens. While it might seem a simple question to which there is a simple answer, it is a little more complicated. Well, think… what about our Southaven students. They just wanted to see if they could.

And so, it is with many. There is something of a pride that goes with the success of producing a painting that looks just like a Renoir. Then too, it is something of a silent pride that must be kept quiet. Then too, it might be used as a type of weapon. During WWII, the Germans from time to time tried to dump fake money into our system. It provided a double advantage for them. First, it helped them with their war effort, and second, it could have caused a meltdown of our economy.

There is an odd feeling of accomplishment. Even when they know that they will eventually be caught, they do it just for the sake of being able to say, “I did it.” To some degree, the wealth they derive is somewhat secondary to some.

There is something of another question involved. To succeed, the counterfeit must resemble the original. It seems simple but people have gone to all kinds of lengths to make a fake twenty-dollar bill look like just exactly like the original. On the other side, the US mint is going to all sorts of lengths to make impossible to copy, which, by the way, increases the costs of legally making money. When we pull out that twenty to pay for that hamburger and fries, we take it for granted. However, a great deal of money went into the design and printing of those bills. Fortunately, they keep the price down by making a few thousand at a time.

Nonetheless, occasionally, someone comes along and finds a way to get away with it for a while. It’s one of those things that provides job security for the Secret Service as well as the rest of law enforcement. It also keeps the banks busy checking what they bring in as well as what they disperse. No bank wants to get the reputation of passing bad money.

There is however, one counterfeiter who has been getting away with it a long time. For thousands of years, he has counterfeited the work of God. Satan promises the same happiness as God and, like all counterfeiters, provides nothing but grief. He promises the good life and, in the end, he causes death.

Of course, to counterfeit God’s work, he has to make it look good and he does. Indeed, billions have been taken in by his false promises and hopes. Without exception, what he provided the world was pain and suffering. In the Garden of Eden, what he has done for the human race, was to deceive mankind into death and men have been paying for it ever since.

Why do men fall for his counterfeit happiness. It’s simple. It looks good. The successful counterfeits always do. So, we humans, look at the counterfeit and chose it over the real thing. It is a choice of deception, and it will not go away until the devil himself goes away.

As the banks check those twenties, it would behoove us to take a second look. Let’s make sure we aren’t accepting counterfeit happiness instead of the real thing… that which is provided by God, our maker, our provider and our savior. That which the devil and his minions provide are, in the end, far too expensive.

By the way folks, lest you get the wrong idea, I too have been deceived and from time to time am deceived to this day. I speak from experience not theory. Sorrows, never happiness, follow sin. Now, into my 70s, I know about what I speak. If you be wise, learn from my mistakes. Chose God, not the counterfeiter. Chose happiness, not sorrow, pain and grief.