No Substitute

Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

The psalmist wrote, "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long."
-Psalm 119:97 (NRSV)

MY dentist's office is full of very expensive and sophisticated equipment. The high-tech gadgetry helps him to monitor possible problems with my teeth and treat whatever problems may arise with greater precision and less pain for me.

But there's one dental-health issue that all the fancy equipment can't address: the results of not flossing daily. Standing in the middle of all that equipment, my dentist told me, "There's no substitute for running that piece of floss between your teeth." It's hard to believe that an action so simple can have such great effect.

Sometimes in the pursuit of good spiritual health, we try to substitute complicated and advanced methods for the simple ones we have readily at hand. We may go to conferences or seminars to deepen our spirituality but neglect daily meditation and Bible study.

There's no substitute for flossing, and there's no substitute for praying and reading scripture daily.