Devotion - Wednesday, February 27

One of the drawbacks to a devotional reading of the Bible is selecting which verses to read each day.  This becomes a real problem when the stopping point is in the middle of was most likely a continuous line of thought in the mind of the writer. 

Romans 1:25 should not be separated from Romans 1:26 ff (our text for today.)  Here, Paul addresses what happens when we exchange the truth about God for a lie.  He wants to challenge us to realize how disastrous our lives become when we begin to serve "the creature rather than the Creator."

We look back on Biblical times and think, "Those silly folks - praying at trees or stone faces carved in the rock."  We look back and convince ourselves that we would never do what they do.  "When have I ever worshiped 'the creature'?" we tell ourselves.

But the false gods of a generation are seldom easily identified as false gods.  A certain group-devotion develops around them and since "everyone is doing it" we find ourselves doing it too.

Paul has a list in 1:28ff, of the indications that we have given ourselves over to some lie, rather than following the truth.  He speaks of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice.  He would have us ask whether we have allowed envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, gossip, slander, hatred of God, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness, invention of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthless behavior to be present among us or in our lives.

It is a lie to think that we can do as we please and then expect everyone around us accept us and approve of our behavior. 

We cannot "create" a path for ourselves, pay no attention to God's guidance, and then expect things to fall perfectly into place.

The way of God is the way which leads us into healthy and wholesome relationships - relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves.

It is easy to see the lies others are living.  How devoted are we to identifying the lies which have crept into our life and even into our expressions of piety?