brand

About a month and a half ago Anita and I had a Ford Escape for about a week and a half. It was the rental we were provided after our car was totaled. While it wasn't bad, I never felt comfortable in it. There were too many bits and pieces bulging out that I'd continuously slam my elbows into. I also had issues with the drivers seat. While I could adjust the height, if I put it at a setting that was comfortable, I couldn't see what was going on around me very well, but if I set it so I could see clearly, I just felt uncomfortable. Of course, that car was comparable to our Toyota RAV4 which I didn't like either, so I wasn't too quick to make a judgment on the quality of American cars.

Then, this past weekend I had a Chevy Aveo while I was out in California. The sub-compact, which is Chevy's version of the Honda Fit that we recently bought, was loud, uncomfortable, handled poorly, and generally felt like it was going to just fall apart at any given moment. In addition, there was virtually no trunk space and I was a bit surprised when I was actually able to fit Robbie's car seat behind me while I was driving. In short, while being "similar", the Aveo is completely different from the Fit. The Fit's a great car, the Aveo might as well have a Yugo tag on it.

What surprises me thought, is that there are many people out there who would still buy the Aveo over the Fit simply because the Aveo is an American brand. In other words, people are willing to put up with a low-quality product, simply because of the brand.

This got me thinking about Christian stuff. Be it websites, movies, music, books, or art, people who are dedicated to the Christian brand are willing to shell out equal amounts of money for an inferior product.

But what happens when you're not dedicated to the brand? In my case, I can't understand why anybody would buy an Aveo. And in the case of the non-believer, they can only assume that Jesus isn't worth our best, which, in turn, gives them ample reason to wonder why they should consider what the Gospel of Jesus has to say about their lives.