Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Romans 1:22-23

Unrighteousness, ungodliness, suppressing the truth, not honoring God nor giving Him thanks, becoming futile in their thinking and having hearts that are darkened…this is the laundry list of characteristics for people who have all of the evidence of God that they need, demonstrated through creation, yet choose to go their own way and create within themselves doctrines, belief systems, and philosophies designed to satisfy their own desires and to create an environment in which they can comfortably exist without any conviction. Today’s passage continues a look at a rebellious heart, one living apart from Christ. 

“Professing to be wise, they became fools.” Are we living lives that are wise or foolish? This a good question for all of us to be asking ourselves as move down life’s road. Consider Jesus’ words regarding this issue of wise or foolish:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Matthew 7:24-27

Notice that there are two options for living in this world…one is hearing the words of Jesus, and by extension all of God’s Word, and acting upon those truths or there is the hearing of Jesus’ words and those of the Word of God and not putting them into practice. Whether it is that one ignores that Bible, doesn’t believe it, or just doesn’t care, it really matters not. Jesus describes a person who hears the truth but doesn’t build their lives upon it as a “foolish” person while those who hear and build their lives on the truth are declared “wise.” This is why Paul reminds us to make the most of our time here on earth:

Therefore be careful how you walk (live), not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

        Ephesians 5:15-17

There it is again…the wise and the foolish. Understanding what the will of God is and acting upon that is the best thing that any of us can do. It is also the best advice that we can give our children, whether they receive it or not. 

“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Here, we see a specific example of these “foolish” people. They do not worship and serve the Creator rather they have exchanged their natural design for that of bowing their knee to created things. This is the most organic form of idolatry but it is not the only kind that we see in our world today. We should reject the temptation to think that idolatry only comes to those in third world countries where statues and other objects are actually worshiped. For the modern world, even unbelievers can see the futility of such practice. But it is the failure to recognize when other forms of idolatry are slipping into our lives that can create spiritual problems and affect our walk with Christ. Nothing or no one is to take the place of Christ when it comes to our worship, devotion, and admiration. Yet, replacements are abundant in our self-serving culture focused on worldly success and the pursuit of money, pleasure, and power (1 John 2:15). Consider the words of Jesus:

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?” 

    Luke 9:23-25

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

        Matthew 10:37-39

What do we see here? Denying oneself, taking up our cross (enduring persecution for being a Christian), following Christ (not the other way around), being willing to live in a way that pleases God, making sure that our love and devotion to family members, careers, and the pursuit of material wealth does not eclipse, in importance, our devotion and surrender to Christ Himself. This is what true salvation looks like and it also serves a s reminder as to why many are not interested in surrendering their lives to Christ and being saved. What one would think would be an easy decision becomes difficult in light of what people believe they will give up in exchange for following Christ. But God will never make demands on us that are heavier than what the world demands ()Matthew 11:28-30). Our spiritual enemy, the devil, would like nothing more than to cloud the thinking of as many as he can in order for us to miss out on salvation yet the offer to follow Jesus, while vile in the ears of rebellious hearts, is the best offer that will ever be presented to us as sinful mankind. 

The people being described in today’s passage have “exchanged” (important word) the glory of God, who is incorruptible, perfect, and altogether wonderful, for an “image,” a mere reflection of something created. Exchanging a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ for an image…this is the heart of idolatry. And what images are acting as substitutes for God? These are images, “in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Corruptible man, birds, and animals taking the place of God…this is what happens when we ignore the truth, refuse to build our lives on the truth, and act out of a futile mind and darkened heart. 

The question is simple…”Are we living with rebellious hearts toward God or are we living lives that are pleasing in HIs sight?” The latter is completely unimaginable and foolish in the minds and hearts of those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18) yet for those of us who have found salvation, forgiveness, acceptance, and purpose through new life in Christ, putting Christ on the throne of our ives is not only an easy decision but makes perfectly good sense. Observable truth…rebellious hearts, our world is full of them but we have the tremendous privilege of telling them about the Savior…so let’s do that today!

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

            James 4:4