I have used these verses on several occasion for the blog. They speak to the reality that so many people experience in their lives. When Paul decided to encourage the believers to not walk according to the Gentiles, he pointed out that they were simply living in the "futility of their mind." In other words, it was the emptiness of their own thinking (or blindness of their hearts depending on your English translation). They had been left to their own devices. What is interesting about this verse is the original language. The Greek is very pointed in its wording and can be translated "the STUPIDITY of their own thinking." OUCH!!!
There are plenty of places in the Bible that are this abrasive. I guess the translators chose to ease the language up a bit. However, Paul's point should be noted. When we are left to the stupidity of our own thinking, it can lead to lives that are lived in complete & utter darkness. The Apostle did take us a little deeper in his understanding. He believed the Gentiles lived the way they lived because they were ignorant (unlearned) and hardhearted (unbelieving). As I read these words, I'm reminded of two very important principles of life:
1) You cannot live in what you do not know
2) You cannot embrace what you do not believe
A Life of Ignorance...
The reason people live the way they live is because they don't know the truth. In their case, ignorance isn't bliss, ignorance is destructive. It keeps people bound to lifestyles that can be dangerous, hurtful, and even shameful. Without knowledge of the truth, they continue to live according to the world system in which they were raised. Ignorant of God and all that He had accomplished in Christ, they continue in idolatry & pagan practices. Believing they were satisfying some pagan deity, they were missing out on what it mean to be related to the One True God.
Paul went after this type of thinking in Athens. He witnessed, firsthand, their zeal for the Unknown God. Sent as a light to the Gentiles, he wanted to reveal to them the God that they worshiped in ignorance. Quoting the poets of their day, he longed to bring into their understanding that the God who created them, the One in which they "lived & moved & had their being" was not like the idols fashioned after wood or stone. He came in our form. Fashioned in the likeness of men. Into our darkness. Gave His life & was raised from the dead. While there were some who believed, there were many others who laughed at the idea of someone being raised from the dead. This leads me to the second point.
A Life of Blindness...
The people of Athens chose to live in blindness. They struggled to grasp the resurrection through their own thinking. What was once ignorance had been turned into pride. Rather than believe on the One whom Paul preached, regardless of how intrigued they were, they hardened their hearts. He became just another "babbler" to them.
This happens in our day as well. Once people are enlightened to the truth, when they choose to reject it, it becomes a matter of the heart. For whatever reason, they close their minds/hearts to the reality of Jesus Christ. It may have something to do with the way they were raised. It might be because the truth is so different than their own understanding of God. Whatever the reason, the excuse can no longer be ignorance. This is where pride sets up and creates a stronghold in the lives of people. They choose to live blinded to the truth.
When we don't know the truth, or we have allowed ourselves to become blind to the truth, we are left with only 1 option: to live according to our own way of thinking. Left to ourselves, we can create multiple realities. Ignorant of the life that God has provided for us, we live according to our own desires. Blinded to the truth of Jesus, we continue to seek a way to please the unknown gods in our life. This type of living looks different for every person. However, the emptiness and pain is all too real.
This is not only true to those "in the world", but I see this reality in the lives of many professing Christians. Ignorant of the goodness of God has led many people to a life of legalism. They have become the "do not touch, do not taste, do not handle" group of our day. Bound in a life of ritual and regulations, they simply miss out on the freedom that Christ came to bring. Rather than seeing the Law as something that Jesus fulfilled, they continue to try to meet its demands. They are frustrated, empty, and simply waiting to go home. Rather than embrace life & their role in the Earth, they seek to escape (preferably through the rapture). The good news for the ignorant is that they can be educated. They can come to understanding of the finished work of Christ. They can be taught about the death, burial, resurrection, & ascension of Jesus. And this TRUTH can set them free.
On the other hand, you have those who are blinded to the truth. They reject teaching on the finished work of Christ. Rather than embracing the reality of it, they become hardened in their thinking. They become even more rigid when you speak of freedom. For many of them it is simply the task of protecting what they have always believed to be true. "This is what Grandpa believed" or "This is what Mom taught me." Regardless of their reasoning, the unwillingness to repent (change the way they think) has left them to their own devices. They live lives trying to please a God who has already been satisfied through the Son. Why? All because of pride. Repentance is the only cure.
These are the ones who took the "blue pill" (see picture above). They simply go back to sleep, wake up and believe what they want to believe. For them, the rabbit hole is too deep and too dangerous. They would rather live in their blindness because their blindness is all they know. This is their reality. For those who have taken the "red pill" - the ones who have opened themselves up to the truth - they are the ones who have been freed into the life of the Son. They take their place in their generation. They rise up through the grace of God & will not go back. They have went down the rabbit hole of God's goodness & discovered Him to be even greater than imagined.
Ignorance & Unbelief. Two of the greatest dangers known to humanity. Ignorance creates mindless followers of ideology. Unbelief creates hardened individuals to their own way of thinking. Each of them creates a reality outside of the life of God. The finished work of Christ ensures that we don't have to live this way. We can live in Him - in His fullness - in His grace. No longer left to ourselves, we will be amazed at what He does in & through our lives. This is the journey. ENJOY!!!
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