“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
1 Corinthians 1:9-10 NASB1995
Watches, or “Timepieces” as enthusiasts call them, are a thing of mass appeal and interest. A single piece can tell a lot about a man. His socio-economic status, hobbies, employment, sketchiness, and, sometimes, insecurities are all on display if you know what you’re looking at. And different watch brands have their die-hard devotees and almost cult-like followings. There's something for every man, from the veritable and highly prized Rolexes to the rugged and functional Casio tool watches on just about every Walmart shelf. And many enthusiasts collect a wide range of brands and styles. If you’re a real enthusiast, one who will not call a watch a watch but only the aforementioned “timepiece,” you have a watch for every opportunity life throws at you; be it midnight doorkicking as part of a SEAL team or the highest echelons of international trade. And until recently, if you weren’t buying the Hamilton or the Breitling, each requiring a little bit more or a little bit less sketchiness, you purchased a “budget” version. Something Timex might have, or Bertucci even. Maybe something a little pricier from a microbrand like VAER, Sangin Instruments, or RZE. Either way, you went for a watch from a brand that meant something. And a Chinese knock-off was entirely out of the question.
Let’s say you’re one of those guys. The guy who will fork over a few hundred for the VAER or take out a loan for the Breitling. The brand matters more than anything because of its heritage, reputation, quality, and rock-solid warranty. After all, if Breitling was good enough for Blackwater, it’ll stand up to anything your airsoft crew will come up against this Saturday, am I right? You think that if you ever even thought about a Chinese knock-off, you’d lose your salvation from the Church of Horology.
But what if the Chinese watch was an eighth of the price of, say, a 200-500 dollar watch, had the same warranty, with the same specs, and, unless someone knew what they were looking at, they wouldn’t know it was Chinese? It wouldn’t be a sacrifice of quality but of brand. What if you could get a better watch for less than the cost of one off the rack at Walmart, and only have to sacrifice the brand? And if brand didn’t matter but value, which would you buy?
Analogies fall apart quickly, so let’s dial in, pun intended.
If brand didn’t matter but value, what kind of Christian would you be? Would you still be Catholic, Reformed, Baptist, Presbyterian, or non-denominational?
If it didn’t matter what brand of Christian you were, what kind of Christian would you be?
See, God set very few standards for the kind of followers He expects us to be. And those could all be boiled down to one. If God could wrap up His standards into one term, it would be “faithful.” It wouldn’t be whatever tribe, cult, sect, or denomination you tack on to your particular brand of Christianity. It wouldn’t be “Catholic Christian,” “Reformed Christian,” etc, ad infinitum. It would simply be “faithful,” which is ultimately what God expects from anyone who claims the name of Jesus. It’s probably the Bible's most affirmed trait of God and godly followers.
What does this say about you, then, brother? Are you faithful to God or a particular brand of Christianity? I don’t know much about the Christian believers in China, outside of it currently being the third fastest growing body in the world, eclipsed only by Afghanistan and Iran, the latter eclipsing both before it. Historically and biblically, although not always, the Church generally grows exponentially under persecution, which is indicative of faithfulness. So, as far as it goes for a Christian brand, one couldn’t do better than the Iranian, Afghan, and Chinese churches. But we Western Christians tend not to think about significant persecution until we read about it in publications like Voice of the Martyrs.
I’ve been spit on for being a Christian. And I’ve been pushed around and beaten up for it, too, verbally and physically. I’ve been told not to talk about my beliefs. I was fired for refusing to work when I attended church. But I’ve never had my faithfulness tested to the extent of our brothers and sisters in the Asian and Middle East churches. But I applaud them for their faithfulness. As it is then, when it comes to a brand of Christianity, are you a tribal Christian - one only concerned with denominational and theological loyalties - or are you a biblical Christian, one only concerned with faithfulness to God? You cannot conflate the two, no matter how much you think your loyalty to a particular Church father might indicate. In reality, many of us are knock-off Christians, not the highly favored and prized biblical version. And no matter how cool we think we are associating with 2025’s microbrand-Christian-tribe, we still fail by God’s standard. No, not because we haven’t been faithful until death yet, but because we are unfaithful to God and His Word in our brand loyalty and tribalism to groups that hold their own metrics of excellence. We quote Lewis but don’t know a thing about the Levites. We recommend Chesterton, but can’t name a single one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. And we esteem Keller without ever, not once, kneeling before our King in prayer.
Who are we, men? Are we loyal to an earthly father’s brand, or our Heavenly Father’s hand? I’m not trying to be cute. These are essential questions. When the world is rife with men who tie together the terms “Christian” and “Racist” unapologetically and unironically, who are we? When the world is rife with men presenting a tribal Gospel to Joe Rogan, who are we? Sure, evangelism is good, and God can use even a dumb presentation of the Gospel just as much as He can a correct one. But wouldn’t we want to present a faithful Gospel more than a tribal one? To do so, though, requires a faithfulness in men today, more than a tribalism. Could we forsake our tribe for our Savior? Could we give up brand loyalty for faithfulness? Are we willing to die the death of a Christ follower over living our lives as Reformers?
I think today's Christian men aren’t willing to cough up the cost of faithfulness. They aren’t willing to spend what it takes to wear the epitome of luxury, precision, and quality that comes along with it. Those things might cost your family, your job, and your paycheck. They might even cost your life. The preciousness of such a sacrifice to gain such value in a life is too much to bear. I know a few men who have sacrificed so. And I know of many more. I don’t know if you have what it takes, though. I don’t even know if I do. But I’m willing to find out. Are you?
“I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me.”
Psalms 119:30 NASB1995
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