An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at Creekwood  

Poor Substitutes

In 1991, the Japanese government sought a way to attract endangered albatrosses to the small Izu islands to breed and reproduce. The Yamashina Institute of Ornithology came up with the idea of placing some 100 wooden albatross decoys in the water to help attract the birds to the islands that are some 375 miles south of Tokyo.

The project for the most part worked well and the endangered birds have landed on the islands and breeding has increased.

But for Deko, a 5-year-old albatross, the experiment went awry. For two years he tried to woo what he believed to be the love of his life. He built her fancy nests, fought off rival suitors, and spent countless days standing faithfully by her side. But his one-and-only was a man-made decoy -- and despite the blank stare and wooden personality, he didn't catch on.

Institute researcher Fumio Sato worries that Deko's infatuation with the decoy kept him from meeting a mate. "He seemed to have no desire to date real birds," Sato observed.*

Deko is not the only one that has set his heart on inferior substitutes…

YOU and I were created to worship God.  We were made “to seek the Lord, in the hope that [WE] might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).

Yet, so many direct their affections to lesser alternatives.  This is idolatry!  An IDOL is an object, person or pursuit we look to for fulfillment, happiness, significance or comfort other than God; it is a God-substitute.

The Psalmist described the idols that people worshiped in his day: 
“Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but 
they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who MAKE them are LIKE them; So is everyone who trusts in them” (Psalm 115:4-8).  No idol is worthy of our worship.  All idols will disappoint us – and will eventually DESTROY us – in the end.

The Psalmist directed his peers to the One True God: “O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:9).  Only God is worthy of our worship, because of who He is, what He has done, and for what He will do.  He is the Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Through His Son, we may have the abundant life and eternal life to come.  

The Living God will give life to those who: believe and trust Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Eternal life awaits those who CONTINUE to follow Him (1 John 1:7) by walking in the light of His Word.

Don’t settle for poor substitutes.  Trust and obey the One True Living God.

God bless you!

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

* Peter Kennedy in The Sermon Illustrator

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