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Fool

 For the director of music. Of David.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1 NIV)

I know, I’m a day late. I started working on a post for this passage but got distracted by what I actually posted. However, there’s something to be discussed here, so a day late it may be, but just as fresh and of no less value.

What is it about the statement, “There is no God” that makes it a statement of a fool? Some might say that it’s a foolish statement because there is a God. That might be part of it, but this is where the infomercial folks throw in a “but wait, there’s more.” Atheists used to claim there is no God, but they’ve stepped away from such absolute declarations. In order to know and be justified in an absolute declaration that there is no God, one would have to be omniscient, knowing everything. In other words, to declare “there is no God,” one needs to be God. So in claiming that God doesn’t exist, you’re effectively claiming that you don’t exist, which would make it rather difficult for you to claim that God doesn’t exist. Do you feel like your mind is playing Twister yet?

There seem to be two basic points that reveal someone to be a fool when they say “There is no God.” The first is that they are claiming to know as absolute fact what they cannot know. They aren’t dealing with reality or reason. That is the folly behind the statement, “There is no God.” It would be just as much foolishness for you to say to me, “You don’t exist.”

If I don’t exist, why are you talking to me?

While “There is no God” is the epitome of foolishness, those who claim to believe that God does exist are not necessarily free of the charge of foolishness. How much of our lives – even lives supposedly dedicated to His glory – is spent in denying some aspect of reality? We think we can read, or watch, or eat, or do what we want, and it should have no influence on our lives. We think we can pick and choose what parts of Scripture we accept or don’t accept, and it won’t affect our relationship with God. We believe we should love other people, as Scripture says – unless those people abuse animals, or mistreat other people, or disagree with us. We think we can sin and it doesn’t matter. God will forgive us. Yes, He will, but in the meanwhile, what damage are you doing to yourself and to others? In short, we claim God exists, but how much time do we spend foolishly pretending to be God? We might not admit that’s what we’re doing but that only reveals greater folly on our part.

And so, on this day after April Fool’s Day, I say,

Lord, You are God and I am not. I confess that my heart desires to usurp Your place even while my mouth sings Your praises. Deliver me from my folly, Holy Spirit.

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