Accept No Substitutes

In 2000, a book that tells the history of American advertising was published entitled "Accept No Substitutes". I find it ironic that an industry that usually thrives in enticing people to acquire material things that they want (but don't necessarily need) would have such a title. Why? Because there is an area of our lives that has nothing to do with material things that should be the one place where we accept no substitutes.

As followers of the person of Jesus Christ, we have a formidable enemy who has made it his goal to substitute God's best for his cheap and costly imitations. As early as the Garden of Even, Satan's bait-and-switch tactics began as he convinced Eve to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit with the promise that you will not surely die (Genesis 3:4). Much like a clever ad agency, he plays on our desires and entices us to buy; never allowing us to see the fine print or the warning label that tells the real story behind the product.

Thankfully, we have a spiritual equivalent to Consumer Reports which allows us to make the necessary product evaluation. By taking our sinful desires and comparing them to what is revealed in God's Word, we will clearly see that what our enemy is offering as a can't miss, once in a lifetime, you deserve it, you can't live without it proposition is nothing more than a low-quality substitute. A substitute we should never accept.