When I was a kid we used to have this saying for those who copied us. I said like this: “Copycat, you dirty rat, sitting in the butcher’s hat!” Then we’d stick our tongues out at the person copying our work (or style) and brand it disdainfully, as if to spite them… you know, the evil eye and all that. When we were kids, we were brutally honest, right?
children copy; it is a temptation to which many are inclined. We have the same problem as adults, although it has less purpose: we tend to copy what others do, sometimes without realizing it, and especially if we see a reward in it.
For example, on the roads we imitate others in a second. I drive maybe 3-4 hours most days of the week, due to the geographically disparate locations of my home, work and family. I am often right at the speed limit on a long, straight stretch of road and realize someone is passing me. Others behind them see it and do the same. Without the model of the first driver, I wonder if others would follow so quickly. I see some amazingly stupid things on the road due to this very phenomenon. And I myself do the same from time to time, that is, I take unnecessary risks in a moment without thinking.
Basically, all of us evaluate what we can do instead of opting for what is right: to arrive at the destination in one piece, intact and unharmed. To stay safe on the roads, we must meet this higher standard, not go the way of the mafia.
It is the same in all areas of life, not just on the roads. We have to strive to do the right thing regardless of the consequences.
Imitators are never really better off in the end. “It is better to live well and be poor than to be sinful and rich.” -Psalm 37:16 (VOC). There is much peace for the person who forges his own path based on what is right.
Copyright © 2009, SJ Wickham. All rights reserved throughout the world.