22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
This idea is echoed by Jacob:
28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned, they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. (2 Nephi 9)
Once a person learns something, it is his disposition to believe that what he knows is all there is to know. Further, it is his disposition to believe that he knows how to best apply what he knows to any situation. God not only gives us truth, but also wisdom, which is the best application of truth in any given situation—what leads to life. Set his wisdom aside and you instantly become a fool because you will continuously make what is less than the best decision—what leads to death. This pattern is laid out in 2 Nephi 9 and in Romans 1. It would be an interesting study to compare and contrast the two, but returning to Romans 1 for now:
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
How can someone change God’s glory? Is that even possible? Isn’t it something that radiates from him?
One definition of “glory” that I find applicable here is “honorable representation.” Substituting that definition for “glory,” the scripture reads:
23 And changed the [honorable representation] of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
When we obtain and live by the spirit of God, we do what God would do. We are meant to be “honorable representations” of him. We are meant to learn his truth and apply his wisdom. But when we reject his truth or his wisdom, we relegate our actions to the foolishness of man or, ostensibly worse, the behavior of the animal kingdom. God will not impart his spirit by force. He can’t.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
God’s spirit withdraws from those who reject his instruction and we withdraw from its influence, too. It’s like trying to connect two magnets by using the ends with the same polarity. They repel each other. When we mistakenly believe that we have as much to give to God as he does to us, repulsion is the result. We don’t receive. We fail to make the connection to him and the life he desires to give us. We remain disconnected and separate and we are left to our own desires which are base and lustful. We choose to believe the lies that support those desires instead of the truths that God gave to us and our actions remains rooted in our own selfishness. We, the creature, become the focus of our worship and service instead of our Creator, who rightly deserves to be that focus.