The true God is very different to all other gods. This is because all other gods are mankind’s created alternatives to the true God.
Why do false religions even exist? What is it in mankind’s default condition that makes him resist the clear revelation from God in all His glory and perfection?
Why is it that you naturally resist the truth about God?
The little booklet of 1 John in the Bible gives us a few reasons why we are so prone to come up with either overt alternatives to the true God, or at least some minor alterations to the true God. These alternatives and alterations are all horrific idolatry, and must be corrected (1 John 5:21).
First we resist the true God because we want to think that we are not that bad (1 John 1:8, 10).
Or, we resist the true God because we want to believe our excuses for disobedience (1 John 2:4).
Sometimes it is because we really want to discriminate in our love of others (1 John 2:9, 11) that we adjust our view of God from what He revealed.
A fourth reason why mankind loves alternatives to the true God is because we want to love bad things more than God’s things (1 John 2:15).
Or simply it is because we want a Jesus to be what we say He is (1 John 2:22-23a) because we simply don’t like the full version of who He claims Himself to be.
We resist the true version of the true God because, at heart, we really hate rules and laws (1 John 3:4, 8, 10) and don’t want to accept that we are under God’s rule.
A seventh common reason to resist the true God is because, to justify our imperfections, we want to tone down true goodness (1 John 3:12), and since God is perfectly righteous and good, we invent a god more compatible to us as though that will ensure safety on Judgement Day.
Lastly, and certainly worth a mention, we resist the true God because we want to love things more than people (1 John 3:17). As much as we love a God who is love, we don’t actually want to love that God with all our heart. Some part of our heart is still attracted to worthless and temporary things.
All these natural desires make us resist the true God.
This is why John the Baptist cried out to mankind “Repent!” Turn from your own desires, believe precisely all that God has clearly revealed Himself to be, and be saved.