Scripture
22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Romans 1:22-25
Observation
Paul makes it clear that when God revealed Himself to humanity through creation we traded the truth for a lie. According to Duzik, “Paul uses the definite article—it is not a lie, but THE lie. The lie is essentially idolatry—which puts us in the place of God. It is the lie you will be like God (Genesis 3:5). For this reason God gave them up to vile passions: Paul wrote this from the city of Corinth, where every sort of sexual immorality and ritualistic prostitution was practiced freely. The terminology of Romans 1:24 refers to this combination of sexual immorality and idolatrous worship. The Devil was gaslighting Eve to his own advantage by casting God as a selfish being holding the best from her. Then, Eve gaslit Adam and, after biting in to the lie, their sexual purity was instantly turned to something to be ashamed of. They did their best to gaslight God and cover it up, but every secret is revealed in the light of a Holy God. This pattern of The Lie of idolatry begetting more lies to control those around us has played out over and over again. Paul addresses it here to the church in Rome and it speaks with bold relevance to what is happening in our culture today in the 21st Century.
Application
Every year Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million page views a month on its site, chooses its word of the year based solely on data. Last year the word was, to no one’s surprise, “vaccine”. This years word actually came as a surprise as it rose so quickly in the English language. Unlike words in past years, the word of the year for 2022 wasn’t centered on one specific event, but instead was looked up frequently every day of the year at an increase of 1,740 percent. The word of course is gaslighting. With all of the trolling, deef fakes, and fake news that abounds online every person that isn’t living under a rock is familiar with gaslighting. I even posted this story on Instagram yesterday and asked my followers a yes or no question: “Have you experienced gaslighting this year?” 100% of those who responded said “yes”. “Merriam-Webster’s top definition for gaslighting is the psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that “causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.” More broadly, the dictionary defines the word thusly: “The act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.” There’s been a lot of gaslighting going on lately. This is why Paul kicks off Romans with a discussion on faith. He brings it back to Jesus. Cut out the rhetoric. Turn off the noise. Get out of the echo chamber and come back to Christ. The fruit of following Him is peace over paranoia, humility over hubris and a desire to build others up rather than tear them down. Anyone who is trying to get you to put your confidence in them or their twisted theology over Christ must be confronted. I remember on our 16 year anniversary at The Father’s House I shared our vision for the church moving forward. There was a true excitement about where God was calling us to go. Then, I said this, “Please don’t put your confidence in me. I can’t save, heal, or deliver anyone. Only Jesus can do that. With our simple mission of “Jesus Every Day” if I’m doing anything other than pointing you towards Christ I’m falling you as a pastor. I will let you down, but our Savior never will.” Instead of gaslighting, trying to manipulate people to put their trust in me during uncertain times, I’m just trying to point to The Light that will never fade and the only One who can lead us through the darkness. There’s so much untruth, mistruth, and half-truths being perpetuated and repeated in a world that doesn’t even believe in abject truth. How Paul’s words ring like like a clarion call to those who follow The Truth- “For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.” (2 Cor. 13:8). It’s hard to stand when your equilibrium is thrown off because what you’ve been leaning on has given out from under you. As the gaslight is slowly being lowered people are realizing they’ve been putting their trust in shadows and specters, in platforms and personalities all of which have let them down. Many have traded purity for perversion and have been left as cavernous versions of their former selves. I can’t fill that empty place, but I know the One who can.
Prayer
In a world of lies, exaggeration, false hope, escalation, domination, manipulation and control how we simply need You Jesus. In a world of gaslighting to gain control You are the only One actually in control! Let me be a light in the night pointing to the genuine article. Let my heart not be swayed by the repetitive words swirling around me, but remain grounded in Your unchanging words written for me. Let Your light shine on any place of idolatry in my own life.
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