Fools

Only fools think there is no God. People like that are evil and do terrible things. They never do what is right. The Lord looks down from heaven to see if there is anyone who is wise, anyone who looks to him for help. But everyone has gone the wrong way. Everyone has turned bad. No one does anything good. No, not one person! Those who are evil treat my people like bread to be eaten. And they never ask for the Lord’s help. Don’t they know what they are doing? Psalms 14:1-4 ERV

The dictionary defines the word ‘fool’ like this: ‘a person who acts unwisely or imprudently’ and is not to be confused with the hapless circus clown. This is serious and indicated the thinking of the Psalmist as he described his own nation. Israel had been shown the constant love and protection of God, but there came many times when they turned their back on Him, and you have to ask why? But not so fast. Roll time forward to the present, and what do we find in our own generation?

Are we any better than the fools described by the Psalmist? Oh, we might believe there is a God, but do we behave as though we respect Him, and His Word? Are we acting the fool when we don’t take His commands seriously? Or when we gossip and backbite? Or dabble with the concept of evolution as an extension or replacement for creation? Or think that our salvation depends on the good works we do? As a Christian, I would suggest that while we say that we believe in the existence of God, we are prone to behave as though there is no God, and that He is not fully relevant and active in our lives. Wouldn’t that internal conflict make us the fool the Psalmist talks about?