But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Romans 1:18-21, 23-32 NLT
The spiral of sin starts with idolatry. Paul described the descent of the human heart—first we turn away from God to worship things, other people, or ourselves. This darkens our minds, and we resist the truth, even when God calls to us. Then we lust and use sex to fill the burning in our souls. We yearn because only the passion of God can satisfy us. Then we lower ourselves to gossip, hate, murder, and more. In the book of Romans, Paul will tell us that it is not enough to try to worship God—we need a change of heart. We need to be right with God, and that is only possible through Jesus Christ. He can heal the damage we have done to our souls and bring us peace.
The problem of idolatry is a universal human problem; it affects every individual on the planet. God has provided a solution that cost Him so much, yet many humans run further from God and deeper into sin—then blame God for the world’s lack of peace. Let Jesus bring you peace. Don’t just accept Him into your heart, let Him change your heart, mind, and actions. And give up the idolatry that is in your heart. Don’t worship your desires but truly worship the Lord.
How is idolatry a temptation in your life—things, people, experiences, etc? How can your life of worship grow to a new level?
