Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:25
Our creature here in this verse is not some scary monster (although it could be) but it is anything that was made; that which was formed from nothing, that which was created by the Creator. Another way of putting it is the thing — anything.
The verse begins with a reference to the truth of God, which is, in this context, that He is the Creator of all things and He alone is to be worshiped and we are to serve only Him. But, the Apostle Paul is speaking here about people who know the truth and yet choose to suppress the truth and pursue unrighteousness. So, they exchange the truth, which they know to be the truth, for the opposite, which they know to be a lie. They exchange the truth for the lie.
Moses’ brother, Aaron had seen the power of God first hand on many occasions and had heard His voice thundering from heaven. He knew without a doubt that God was the Creator and everything else was just so many of His creatures; things that were created. Included in those creatures is gold. Aaron knew that gold was not God and that gold had no power to deliver or to do anything else for that matter. Gold is just a part of God’s creation.
In spite of Aaron’s understanding of the truth, he still exchanged that truth for the lie while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the two tablets of the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. Aaron had all of the people bring him their gold jewelry and he melted it down and fashioned it into the image of a calf. Then, the people gathered around that golden calf and began to party, declaring it to be their god who delivered them from Egypt. How could they so quickly turn from the Creator to the creature? It can happen.
There are plenty of “things” in this life that can attract your attention and take up your time and possibly some of your affection and even, to some degree, your devotion. What kind of things? It doesn’t matter, for the specifics will be different for each person, but the result is the same. It is possible even to reduce prayer and worship down to things, with blessings being related to the acquisition of creatures rather than the touch of the Creator.
We do, of course, need “things” to live in this world and many of those things have a legitimate place in our every day life. We must spend much of our waking time being busy with things, parts of God’s creation that allow us to make a living and provide food and that which is needed in this life. All of these creatures should occupy their proper place in our life, but they are not to be worshiped or served — that place is reserved for the Creator only.
Do you have things in your life that get in the way of your worshiping the Creator? Are there things in your life that are more important to you than your relationship with the One who created you? Do you find yourself hindered from serving God because you are busy serving His creation rather than serving Him? Maybe you have fallen for a little bit of the lie, but today is your day for deliverance. Choose to serve the Creator and not the creature!
Don’t forget to join our Email list and become a Fellow Traveler! Just Click HERE
And, please help us spread the word by sharing this post with others!