Why is worshiping NATURE such a bad thing?

First of all, it isn't ... at least, not directly.

But the problem is, what are you really worshiping when you do? Nature itself?...or its Creator?

In Ezekiel 8, God shows Ezekiel some of the abominations which have made Him cast His Eyes away from Judah (the remaining portion of Israel in the 580 BC range, when Ezekiel lived), the reasons He will soon have Babylon come conquer His people and disperse them.

We see in verses 5 through 13 terrible betrayals of God's trust, using the Temple itself to worship "every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel" (8:10). And after all of these things are shown to the prophet, God then "said also to me, 'You will see still greater abominations that they commit.'" 

Greater? Greater than those? What would God be more offended by than worshiping their idols in His holy Temple?

Read Ezekiel 8:16 →

And He brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.

WHY would that be such a big deal to the Lord? Read verses 17-18, which are God's response to the prophet:

Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke Me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I will act in wrath. My Eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in My Ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Still unsure? Think about it: when you worship nature, it doesn't seem very different than worshiping a stone or wooden idol - you're worshiping things, not the One Who created those "things". But at least, with a carved idol, you could make the pretense that the "thing" you hold in your hand is just a representative of a greater "something" - a made-up "god" that you've carved a graven image of. Still a nearly-unforgivable breach of God's Commandments, but you've at least gone beyond worshiping the "thing" itself.

But with "nature", you are literally looking at all (or a big part) of creation - what God Almighty has created - and said that it in and of itself is worthy of your worship, NOT its Creator. There's no pretense involved. There's no subterfuge there. It's strictly an abandonment of our role as the primary creations of the Most Holy God to worship another of His creations rather than Him. 

Remember, He created the planet and "nature" for US. For us to worship what He created for us to use is like worshiping our own clothing! (And yes, I know some people do!) 

If you 'd like to ADMIRE nature, go for it! If you want to APPRECIATE nature as God's "masterpiece" or something, by all means! 

But if you're treating nature like IT is more important than GOD, you've set yourself up for a nasty fall when it comes to judgment time. Even more than "normal" idolatry, God is saying here in Ezekiel 8, worshiping nature for nature's sake is an abhorrence to Him. 

So, understand: if you're a "back-to-nature" kind of guy or gal, that's NOT a problem. 

Just get your priorities straight.