claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. [romans 1:22-23]
idol worship may seem like a strange and foreign concept to some of us westerners, or it may seem like an outdated practice of less informed people groups, but sometimes this is because we place too narrow a definition on idol worship. images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things still have a huge prevalence in our world, and the bowing down or performing rituals to statues of metal and wood still happens in millions of lives every day. but idolatry is a state of heart, and it happens before the outward act of bowing to a bird. look at the verse again. look at the order of events.
- claiming to be wise- this is the same desire as the very first sin we see at the fall of man in genesis 3. adam and eve desired to be like God. they desired to be wise in and of themselves. they believed satan’s lie that they could possess God-like wisdom and rule their own lives. so they ate the fruit. this is the same desire that caused satan to fall from heaven, and it’s the same desire we are now born with. desiring to be our own God and to call our own shots, we claim to be wise. this is the root of idolatry.
- they became fools- when man deludes himself into thinking he can possess God-like wisdom, he then has no truth to measure any of his “wisdom” against. he is the ultimate authority over his own life, and can no longer see the lack of knowledge or wisdom or even the lack of logic in his own ways. he justifies all that he thinks and does, no matter how ludicrous. this is the blind folly of idolatry.
- exchanged the glory of God- to exchange God’s glory is an intentional rebellious act. it is cosmic treason committed against the Almighty. God’s glory is not subjective. his glorious essence is the undeniable truth on which the entire creation stands. without God’s glory, there is no creation. but in man’s folly, he denies this glory. to his own detriment, he fools himself into thinking that a lesser glory will make him happy. to deny God’s glory is to deny everything that would actually bring complete satisfaction. this is the great tragedy of idolatry.
- for images- when man denies God’s glory, he also denies the source of all goodness. so he scrambles to continue receiving God’s goodness while denying God himself. he finds images that resemble God’s goodness. and the images are not bad. God has created them, after all! but they were created to point to the Creator. always. when man worships these images as the creator, he becomes an idolator. he is saying, i want God’s goodness but not God himself. i want the blessings without the Blesser. i want the kingdom without the King. these images may actually be made of wood or stone, but they can be other pictures of the goodness of God as well, such as relationships, wealth, success, knowledge, or accomplishment. any good thing that God has given to show us more of his character can be taken and exchanged for his glory. when it has taken root in the heart of man, it becomes the thing man chases after, bows down to, pours his time and energy and money into, and places his hope in. tirelessly striving for happiness. hopelessly spinning his wheels. this is the outward manifestation of idolatry.
we all worship something. even the atheist chases after something he believes will satisfy the longings of his heart. but we can easily look at these verses and only be looking outwardly at the atheist or the hindu, and fail to evaluate the idols of our own hearts. let these verses lead us in tearing down our idols! God tells us he will not share his glory with another. the throne of our hearts can hold only one King. one Master. one Savior. may we cling with all our hearts to the only Almighty Creator worthy of worship! may we give him all the glory!
~arwen eastman