|
|
 |
|
You should know there's a new slj site! Check it out |
| |
|
  Cheap Substitutes The Northwest Region asks, “Why do we settle for less?” |
||
     |
From Otto Scott, I-V staff member at Whitman College (WA):
“So, how was your Christmas break?” I asked the group of students. “Do you mind if I eat a little something while we talk?” I casually pulled a can, a plate, and a fork from a paper sack. “Who traveled the farthest?” I asked. “Did anyone leave the continent?”
Mission accomplished. I had gotten their attention. Now we could talk about how often we settle for cheap substitutes in our lives. Why do we try to supplant Jesus with cheap imitations? Do they really taste better? I explained how often I let circumstances control my life or my response to God. I am given to complaining and hopelessness long before I consider the possibility of worshiping him. I forget that Jesus has a perspective on my life that he longs to share with me, but I seem prone to settle for the spiritual dog food of despair. I devour the cheap substitute instead. In the end, it’s not nearly as satisfying as ham or turkey. —Otto prefers Pedigree® beef stew, although “it tastes a little gritty.” From Al Anderson, Regional Director for the Northwest Region: I was talking with a group of students about how God hates idolatry, and I encouraged them to open their eyes to the idols around them on their campus and in their culture. We talked about how idols are actually cheap substitutes to God. God offers true, genuine love, but instead people have sex with strangers. God offers perfect peace, but instead people buy security systems for their homes. God offers deep, abiding joy, but instead people buy lots of toys. God offers the promise of eternal security, but people put their trust in stock market investments. God offers a lifetime of living within his glory, but instead people want fifteen minutes of fame. God offers perfect gifts, but we choose cheap substitutes instead. This is disgusting to God.
|
|||
 |
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . —Collected by Shelley Soceka
Talk to us! Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this article for educational purposes provided this permission notice, and the copyright notice below are preserved on all copies. Not to be reprinted in any other publication without permission. © 2000 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. All rights reserved. Questions about the website? Contact  Member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
|
As the crowd of about sixty students began to call out place names, I opened the can of Pedigree® dog food I had just taken out of my bag. Then I spooned it onto my plate. “Okay, tell me what you ate for Christmas dinner,” I said. “Who had turkey?” I raised the spoon to my mouth and took my first bite. Those closest to me began to squirm and make faces as I continued eating. “It looks like most people had turkey,” I said while surveying raised hands. I took another bite and swallowed again. “But what about ham?” I asked. “How many had ham?” By now the students were restless and distracted from finishing our conversation about Christmas break. As I licked the last bit of dog food off my spoon, one of the women cried, “Why are you doing that?”
To demonstrate my point, I took out a loaf of french bread. I suggested that a fine loaf of bread deserved to be eaten with sweet butter on it. Spreading it with margarine would be okay, but not nearly as good. But what if we spread petroleum products over it? I smeared Vaseline® on the bread and ate it. The students thought it was disgusting, but they got the idea: don’t settle for cheap substitutes.
