The Bakelite Test

     As a serious rhinestone hunter, I rarely took a second look at the plastic bangle bracelets others were grabbing up at estate sales. Until one day, when I found a vintage plastic bangle studded with rhinestones! 

     Researching the bracelet I found one similar, the plastic described as Bakelite, and that it had been tested. The price surprised me - it seemed high for a piece of plastic! But Bakelite, I later learned, is a highly collectible vintage plastic that was not only used to make jewelry, but buttons, the handles of knives and other everyday items! Of course the jewelry is my favorite, with bangles in reds, greens, yellows, black - many of them huge with carved leaf or flower designs. And narrow spacer bangles to go between. Some women stack them up their arm - as I witnessed one day on a clerk at a craft store. As she rang up my items, the bracelets made a delicious "thunk, thunk, thunk" noise with each movement of her arm! Poor thing! I was mesmerized by those bracelets and had to ask all sorts of questions while her line backed up into the silk flower department...

     I had to find out if my vintage plastic bracelet was truly a Bakelite treasure. That meant testing, which goes like this:

1) Sound - when these bracelets hit each other they "thunk". Not a cheap "tink", but a hearty thunk     that comes from being denser than say a celluloid or a Lucite.

2) Smell - when heated (rub your thumb against the bracelet until it warms up) sniff! You will             notice a chemical odor that is distinct.

3) Reaction - dip a cotton swab in 409 brand cleaner (only 409!) and rub lightly on the bracelet.           The swab will be yellow where it has touched the bracelet. 

There are several other tests, but these are the safest and seem to be the most widely accepted.

     My bracelet tested positive - it was indeed a Bakelite treasure!

     The Bakelite tests reminded me of how testing in my life and yours will reveal the authenticity of our faith.

     How should we sound when we are tested? Jesus states in Matthew 5:18-19 that "...those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts..." Our day to day conversations should sound different if our heart belongs to Christ.

     How do we "smell" when heated up? When we are rubbed the wrong way by people around us does our attitude and response "stink", or does it have a kind, peaceful and loving aroma that is characteristic of the Holy Spirit living in us?

     Our reactions to the tests God allows in our lives are ways of gauging if we are walking close to Him, or living for ourselves. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) 

     A fake Bakelite bracelet will never please the person who is looking for the real thing. 

     A life lived without believing that God is who He says He is, will never be a life that pleases God!

     

     

Red Coral - or a Fake Red Stone?

     The tiny room was crowded with jewelry - on tables, hanging from the walls, in the hands of other treasure hunters, when I walked in to a private estate sale. From the row of rings on display I quickly picked up a gold ring with a red stone. The mounting was old and had the look and feel of real gold, the stone was certain to be red coral. I purchased the ring, excited to see how it would do at auction. But first, it had to be appraised...

     I took it to a jeweler the next week. My hopes were confirmed, the gold was tested and confirmed to be real, the stone identified as red coral. Immediately the ring went up for auction, the bidding was fast and furious, the ring sold at a price beyond what I had imagined. It was quickly shipped to the buyer.

     I have a 14 day return guarantee on items purchased from my auctions and store. On day 13 I heard from the buyer. From a different country than I had shipped the ring. Stating the red coral was fake. I was sure it was a scam! After all, I knew my jeweler was reputable, and this buyer was a stranger - claiming to be an expert!

     Still, because of my policy, I asked the buyer to return the ring, which they did. It took a long time to receive the package, but when it arrived and the ring was inside, I refunded the buyer's bid. We had continued to have conversations by email, and the buyer convinced me to seek another appraisal to confirm their findings.

     It sat on my desk for awhile. It was still beautiful. I wanted it to be real, and taking it to another jeweler meant that my jeweler (and I) might be wrong. Or the buyer might be right.

     Finally, unable to stand not knowing for sure, I took it to another jeweler. One that knew more about red coral. They knew what to look for, and sadly, the characteristic markings of red coral were not there when checked under high power magnification. The stone was fake, as the buyer had pointed out, my jeweler and I were wrong.

     I was a little shaken! What if the buyer had never pointed out the problem? Someone later may have trusted that they had a treasure, only to realize that what they had invested in was not real! As much as it wounded my pride to believe I could be wrong, it was by admitting the buyer may be right that led me to the truth!

     I've shared this story in part for treasure hunters out there - please be willing to get a second opinion before you believe you know the truth about an item you've picked up at an estate sale.

     The rest of the reason goes like this:

     I know a man that is much like the first jeweler. Many trust something very important to his care - their very soul, if you will, believing what he says about God's requirements for our life on earth and eternity to come. Part of what he says is true - like the gold mounting of the ring. And it is golden - God is love (1 John 4:8), God did not sent His Son Jesus to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17), truth found in God's Word the Bible.

     Part of what he says is not truth. Perhaps it is unintentional - I doubt the jeweler was trying to harm me by giving a false appraisal of the red coral, but it was still fake. To say that God and His requirements change with societal norms, modern times, advances in technology is not truth, (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 102:27, Lamentations 3:21-23). We may change, the truths that God set down in His Word, do not change. We may want to rejoice in the "gold" of His Word, but changing other parts of His Word to fit our lifestyle, makes our whole belief system fake.

     Our Pastor is like the buyer of the ring. He has inspected what is being taught by this man, and declared it fake. And the people who believe the man are outraged - like I felt when the buyer called me out. How could a stranger know that what they are hearing and believing is not true. What if this stranger is right? It means having to take a closer look at what you want to believe is real. It means your pride may be hurt when you realize what you thought was beautiful and real - was just a pretty fake red stone...

     Praise God for those that spend much time in His Word and can tell a fake from a treasure. They are a lot like the second jeweler, magnifying what is taught and looking for the characteristics that mark teachings as truth. In the end, they will keep many from trusting in a fake with the treasure of their soul!