therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves – [romans 1:24]
God gave them up
we are a society obsessed with doing things we want to do and going where we want to go. but what happens when those desires go against the desires of God? and what happens when God just lets us chase those desires?
this concept is at the root of some of our most pressing questions:
why aren’t people more civil to one another?
why do we have such short attention spans?
why is everyone angry all the time?
why don’t people even know who and what they are?
why is our government so broken?
why are we purposeless?
these are signs of a society gone astray – a society that has denied the truth of God. His commands are not a prison keeping us from freedom, they are guardrails keeping us from going off a cliff.
our society is not so different from the one paul writes about here in romans. the pull of sin has been with us since eden, and will continue to be with us until the Lord returns, which is why we must be aware of it and keep ourselves from the dishonor and pain that come with it.
verse 24 is part of a progression leading to three ‘God gave them up ‘statements (verses. 24,26, 28), describing the spiral of sinfulness that results in God’s wrath. this starts by ‘suppressing the truth’ (v. 16), then failing to honor God or give thanks to Him. next is to become ‘fools’ (v.22) and exchange the glory of God for created things (v. 23). this all leads to verse 24, where God removes his protection and allows such fools to go on their own way.
this is not an eternal abandonment – yet. this is a loving father allowing us to walk into our poor behavior until we realize the pointlessness of it, and embrace out need for Him.
some, sadly, never learn.
this is the ultimate example of thirsty man refusing water.
eventually he will realize his thirst, or he will die of dehydration.
we were made for honor, not dishonor.
we were made to worship a living, loving God, not undeserving things.
we were made to reflect His image, not remain broken.
denying God will not bring us freedom, but only shame, defeat, emptiness, pain and wrath.
this verse is kind of depressing. it clearly defines life without God, and it is not pretty. It should remind us that Christ alone offers life and joy. anything and everything else are not only foolishness, but depravity.
may we choose to be light in darkness, displaying to our world the beauty of life worshipping the one true God, and be the ones to share living water with thirsty souls.
~ jason soroski