Fool

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

    What is a fool?  The dictionary tells us that a fool is a “silly” or “stupid” person or one who lacks “sense” or “judgment.”  Based on that definition anyone can be a fool depending on the subject matter.  The Psalmist simplifies the definition saying that a fool is simply one who doesn’t believe in God, the only subject that truly matters.  What defines one as someone who lacks sense or judgment is what they believe about God.  This is a true fool.  While it makes sense that a book about God would define a fool as one who doesn’t believe in Him, I think there is something here for those of us who call ourselves Christians.  Do we believe in God?  Yes.  Might there be doubts from time to time, or question during certain seasons of our lives?  Sure.  Yet, at the end of the day we would declare that we certainly do believe in God.  So, what is here for us?  If we believe that God is the only subject that truly matters, or at least the subject that all other subject’s meaning flows out of, then why is it that we are so often consumed with pursuing other subjects over God?  While we may not be the “fool” according to the Psalmist because we believe that God exists, functionally many of us often live as fools, as though God doesn’t exist.  We can be so much more consumed with chasing a myriad of other subject matters throughout our week and then we come to church, give God our two hours and then depart to forget about Him for much of the rest of our week.  That is why I think this first verse in Psalm 14 shouldn’t be run past so quickly.  We might be tempted to read this verse, think “that’s not me” and get on with the Psalm.  Instead, what if we challenged ourselves, from this verse, to truly make God the only subject that matters in our lives?  What if we chose to make God the subject through which we see all other subjects?  What if we saw God as so much greater than everything that all other subjects looked minuscule in His presence?  This verse should challenge us to have a very high view of God.  His majesty, splendor and glory should jump off the page for us when we read this Psalm.  We should read this verse and say, “I will do anything, absolutely anything, go to any length in order that I am not the fool.”  What does that mean then?  It means I must push myself, everyday to have an enormous, gigantic, majestic view of who God is.  Only by fixating on who God is, in all His glory and splendor, can I wage war against my tendency to put God in my rear view and live as a fool.  Church, let’s resolve to have a high view of God.  Let us not just say that we believe in Him, as the demons do, but let us pursue Him, know Him, love Him.  May God be the only subject, for you and I, that truly matters.  

PRAYER OF THE DAY: God, I thank you that You are worth everything.  Help me to know Your greatness and to not allow the foolishness of the world to crowd out my view of You.