What do people do when they make mistakes? They make excuses! Very human - and yet Paul insists that no one can ever say that they did not know about God or that no one told them. Nature is a book, and when we open the eyes of the mind, heart, and soul we can see God plainly in creation. We should feel awe, gratitude, and praise for God the creator. But when we turn our focus on the self, we begin to worship the ego and to put our devotion and energy into things that God has created rather than God. And if we truly see God in creation, why do we treat that creation so poorly? Why do we exploit it for profit, or poison it with chemicals? Created things are here for us to enjoy, but they should lead us to love and praise the creator.

There is a certain type of religious mentality that focuses only on the outward things: rules, rituals, and traditions. People who do this often do nothing about what is inside of them, for that is where real impurity is. Hatred, envy, greed, selfishness, anger, aggression and such things come from the human heart and mind. Even very religious people can sometimes engage in gossip, unkindness, greed and lust for power. It is very easy then to find fault with others - usually the very faults that we do not recognize in ourselves. Jesus tells all of us - not just the Pharisees, who were no worse than anyone else - to start by cleaning our own inner house. Those with purified hearts are the ones who will see God.