Can You Blame Them?

They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one remembers, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I bow down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44:18-20)

It seems like every day that passes, the world gets crazier and crazier. The headlines become more dire every day, and it seems like the planet is hurtling towards certain judgment and destruction. Some think that the world is actually improving. What seems to me to be greater degrees of licentiousness and evil is, to them, simply greater freedom to hedonistically live for themselves without any thought for what God wants. People are going to worship something. If they do not worship the one true God, they will fashion a god of their choosing who requires nothing from them. People want a god they can create in their own image, and many have chosen to worship “self.” People are blinded to reality and fail to see the futility of idolatry. In the end, Isaiah says, “they can’t help it.”

Idolatry has always existed, and it still exists today. In Isaiah’s day, people worshipped hand-made idols, and they were incapable of understanding the faulty logic of worshipping a piece of wood. Now people worship idols made with their cell phones and social media; they worship themselves, and they worship success, pleasure, identity, and so many other cultural trappings. They, too, fail to see the futility and short-sightedness of their idolatry. Their hearts are twisted, and their eyes are blinded, and Isaiah says we really can’t blame them.

If we need to blame someone, perhaps we should blame ourselves. After all, as Christians, we say our eyes have been opened, and now we see; yet, we are often just as idolatrous as our lost friends. Additionally, since those around you who do not know Jesus are blinded to the foolishness of their idolatry, what are you doing to help them see the light? As Christians, we are often guilty of cursing the darkness and failing to shine forth the light of the gospel. Consider Isaiah’s words, “their hearts cannot comprehend, their eyes cannot see.” It is up to us who have been set free to pray for those blinded by idolatry and share the message that can release them from a life of futility.