Day 27: The Fool Isn't Stupid
Read: Psalm 14:1–3
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
— Psalm 14:1 (ESV)
Reflect
When we hear "the fool," we tend to picture someone who is not very smart. And when we hear "There is no God," we picture a debate about whether God exists.
Psalm 14 is talking about something else.
The word for "fool" is naval, and it describes moral folly, not a lack of intelligence. There is a man in 1 Samuel 25 whose name is Nabal. His wife says of him, "As his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him" (1 Samuel 25:25). His folly was not a weak mind. He was harsh, and he lived as if no one could call him to account.
Now look at what follows in Psalm 14. "They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good." The verses that follow are about conduct. The fool's "no God" is not mainly a philosophical position. It is a way of life. He lives as if no one is watching.
The fool says, "No God." He means, "No God I answer to."
That makes this psalm uncomfortable in a useful way. A person can believe in God with his mind and still live like the fool in parts of his life. The question is not only what you believe. It is whether you live before Someone.
Across Scripture
Psalm 53:1 repeats these words almost exactly. Proverbs says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). Paul quotes Psalm 14 in Romans 3:10–12 to show that all of us, without exception, are under sin, and so all of us need the righteousness God gives through Jesus Christ.
Sit With It
The fool simply lives; the wise person lives before Someone. Where are you living as if no one is watching?
Pray
Keep me from practical atheism, from living as if you were not there.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.