21 For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

— Romans 1:21-23, 25

7 everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”

21 the people whom I formed for Myself that they might declare My praise.

— Isaiah 43:7, 21

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

— John 3:19-20

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Instead of acknowledging their darkened hearts, people who willfully suppress God’s truth call themselves “wise.” Sophisticates consider themselves wise in worldly ways. In apostle Paul’s day and ours, those who reject God’s truth mistakenly imagine themselves as intelligent and sophisticated as they value creation above the Creator. Besides, rather than praise God’s unique glory, people “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles.”

Rather than flourish in relationship with their Creator, people “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised.”God designed people to worship Him. When the God of creation is not worship’s focus, people satisfy their inborn yearning for worship with substitute gods. Spirituality, religious affiliation, good deeds, valued possessions, and personal interests, even when good in and of themselves, can become gods of our own making, suppressing God’s general and special revelation of life-giving truth.