Former Blackout Artist

“The worst thing God can do to human beings in the present is to let them reach their idolatrous goals. His judgment is to give us over to the destructive power of idolatry, and of evil.” – Tim Keller

Romans 1:18 tells us that “God’s wrath is being revealed,” and not always in the way we expect. We have this Old Testament image of judgment, like fire raining down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. But it’s often quieter than that. And maybe even more unsettling when you think about it. God’s wrath is revealed when He gives people over to what their hearts insist on having.

That’s what makes Tim Keller’s observation above so sobering. The worst thing God can do is not to block our idols, but to let us have them.

Consider the man who worships success and finally gets the promotion he’s chased for years. On the surface, it looks like a win. But underneath, something is unraveling. His marriage grows distant and his kids barely know him. And all the while, his soul becomes more restless and empty. He’s never satisfied.

What he wanted most is now quietly undoing him.

God is patient loved ones—remarkably so. He warns us, nudges us, and convicts us. But there comes a point where He says, “If this is what you truly want apart from Me, I will let you have it.” And that is judgment.

Oscar Wilde put it this way: “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” That’s a terrifying thought, but it clearly echoes Paul’s teaching in the opening chapter of Romans. God is revealing His wrath today by giving people over to their sinful desires.

But there’s some good news! God doesn’t give us over lightly. His warnings are mercy. When He interrupts our misguided plans – He’s extending enormous grace to us. Even in His discipline He’s inviting us to turn back before the thing we crave becomes the thing that consumes us.

It’s worth asking today: Is there anything I want so badly that I’d be willing to lose God to get it?