The Foolishness of Nature Worship

1Anyone who does not know God is simply foolish. Such people look at the good things around them and still fail to see the living God. They have studied the things he made, but they have not recognized the one who made them. 2Instead, they suppose that the gods who rule the world are fire or wind or storm or the circling stars or rushing water or the heavenly bodies. 3People were so delighted with the beauty of these things that they thought they must be gods, but they should have realized that these things have a master and that he is much greater than all of them, for he is the creator of beauty, and he created them. 4Since people are amazed at the power of these things, and how they behave, they ought to learn from them that their maker is far more powerful. 5When we realize how vast and beautiful the creation is, we are learning about the Creator at the same time.

6But maybe we are too harsh with these people. After all, they may have really wanted to find God, but couldn't. 7Surrounded by God's works, they keep on looking at them, until they are finally convinced that because the things they see are so beautiful, they must be gods. 8But still, these people really have no excuse. 9If they had enough intelligence to speculate about the nature of the universe, why did they never find the Lord of all things?

The Foolishness of Idolatry

10 But the most miserable people of all are those who rest their hopes on lifeless things, who worship things that have been made by human hands--images of animals artistically made from gold and silver, or some useless stone carved by someone years ago. 11A skilled woodworker may saw down some suitable tree, carefully strip off the bark, and then, with skillful craftsmanship, make from it an object that will serve some useful purpose. 12He will take the leftover pieces and use them as firewood to cook a meal that he can sit down to and enjoy. 13But among that scrap wood he may take one piece that isn't good for anything--maybe it's crooked and full of knots--and carefully carve it in his leisure time, using spare moments to shape it into the crude image of a person, 14or maybe of some worthless animal. He paints it all over with red, covering up every flaw in the work. 15Then he prepares a suitable place in the wall for it and fastens it in place with iron nails. 16He is careful to keep it from falling, because he knows it is only an idol and needs help; it cannot help itself. 17But he is not ashamed to pray to this lifeless thing about his marriage, his children, and his possessions. 18It is weak, but he prays to it for health. It is dead, but he prays to it for life. It has no experience, but he prays to it for help. It cannot walk, but he prays to it for a successful journey. 19Its hands have no power, but he asks it to help him--in business, in making money, and in his work.