Romans 1
"Confidently claiming to be wise, men became fools (μωραίνω), in that they exchanged (ἀλλάσσω) the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image (ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος) resembling corruptible man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles." - Romans 1:22-23
Paul continues to discuss what we have done with the clear evidence that God exists. Instead of worshipping and thanking God for life, beauty, and creation, we confidently claim to be wise apart from God. We think we are smart, but we are actually fools. We show our foolishness by what we worship. Instead of worshipping the Creator God who is infinite and eternal, we worship images of some aspect of God's creation: a statue of a man, animal, or reptile, or in our day, one or more of the six S's: the self, sex, the state, science, stuff, or sport.
An atheist is not wise. A pantheist is not wise. The only wise person is one who is a theist, and to be more precise, a Trinitarian monotheist. It is the Triune God of the Bible who created our world and us, and to whom it is right for us to give glory and thanks. Independent human reason and experience leads us to nihilism, as the last two centuries have shown. In our modern world, we have a crisis of meaning. It is because we have abandoned the God who is really there and who is not silent.
Father, our hearts are an idol factory. Save us from the idols we have made for ourselves. May we worship you, the true source of all things. You are incorruptible and immortal, the only one worthy of our worship. May we not worship the things of this world any longer. The greatest place we can possibly be is in your presence worshipping you and being close to you. May we spend quality time with you today. In Jesus' name, amen.
- Jeff Coleman