Day 2666 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Romans 1:25 NIV
You see, there's a massive problem with living as if we can come up with our own version of truth. There's an issue in choosing to ignore God and do things our way. There's a scary side to worshipping lies and abhorring the truth. And that's that God will let us. He lets humanity make their own choices. He allows people to ignore His commands. He allows folks the freewill to choose sin, selfishness, lies, and deception. And it's blatantly obvious that the world has done exactly that.
Yesterday we discussed the vital need for truth in not just our lives, but especially in our faith. If we don't have something solid and unyielding then we have no foundation. Everything is just made up. Everyone gets to decide for themselves. It's not freedom. It's anarchy. It's this comfortable and pride-filled mindset that allows us to think we have more power and authority than we actually do. It's nothing but this smokescreen that allows human beings to live as if they're gods and ignore the warning signs that are clearly evident that tell them that they're not.
When people take it upon themselves to formulate some kind of new truth, some kind of new religion, some kind of new idol to worship, then they lose sight of the actual truth that all of creation is designed upon. They lose sight of the righteousness as defined by God to which all of us are going to be held accountable for either pursing or failing to acknowledge. But the main problem is that humanity has always had it in their minds that they can somehow shirk God's command to be holy and get away with it.
I think it's because we don't see the consequences right away. It's not like playing with fire or running into oncoming traffic. Those things bring their painful consequences instantly. But a life of sin doesn't really bring any kind of immediate repercussion. Sin doesn't bring physical pain, at least at first. Sin doesn't harm us, as long as we continue believing the lies it sells us. So living apart from God only has this seemingly distant warning that one day we'll be held accountable for our choices to ignore Him and do things our way.
And nobody knows how long off that day of reckoning really is. So people live as if they have plenty of time to be stupid and foolish and do as they please. And the longer we go without any consequences or real understanding of what we're doing, we see less and less problem in what we're doing. And that's exactly where our society has gone. People have gone for so long in the wrong direction without letting themselves consider the dangers in doing so that they just think it's okay. They think it's okay to keep hating the truth and ignoring the warning that God's truth gives us.
But one of the worst things we can do is to take God's patience to mean He isn't serious. He is patient with us, not because sin isn't abhorrible, but because He wants everyone to come to their senses and turn back to Him and ask for His forgiveness. It's not that He enjoys seeing people live in the darkness. It's that those people have to be the ones who realize their mistakes and repent of them, because without repentance then nobody has a chance. That's the downside of freewill. We get to make our choices, but in return, we're the only one who are responsible for those choices.
I know this world will never find appreciation for God's truth because His truth is what's now considered offensive. His truth goes against this rampant selfishness that has consumed so many hearts and minds. His truth points to the flaws in the choices we make. His truth calls us to do better than we've done, and we don't want to think we've done anything wrong. His truth tells us that we have fallen, and that's a pill that is simply too hard for many to swallow because it not only asks for humility, but it demands it. And humility is one of the hardest things possible to find in this place.
Friends, the world has traded God for self, truth for lies, righteousness for sin, and the chance at repentance for the opportunity to continue to cater to our fallen desires. But no matter what the world does or how harmless they're convinced it may be, the fact remains that God is God and He has the final say when it comes to right and wrong. This place will continue along the path it has chosen all the way to an eternity of suffering, all because turning off that path requires something they're not willing to entertain. It requires admitting we messed up and asking for forgiveness for the years wasted pleasing ourselves instead of seeking to glorify our Father.
The world has thrown God's truth out of the way and made the choice to develop their own that allows them to remain convinced they're not doing anything wrong. Fine. Go for it. But we don't get to create something for ourselves. We don't have the right to come up with our own definitions of truth or righteousness or anything else for that matter. God has already defined all of the above, and our arrogance simply cannot compete with His supremacy. I beg you to open your eyes, open your minds, and open your hearts because while this world clearly thinks this is a game, it never has been and never will be.
There will be consequences for every single action done against God, and we'd be fools to honestly believe otherwise. The Bible tells us of the consequences of living apart from God and ignoring His commandments and denying His Son. That may be the path the majority of the world has chosen, but if we want to avoid unending misery, we'd better choose a far more narrow, more controlled, more upright path for ourselves. Otherwise, we'll end up where everyone else does who thought they had the right to ignore God and get away with it.
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