The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
Have you ever noticed that those who proclaim to be atheists have to constantly remind themselves of this position? Not only that, but many of them feel compelled to make it their live’s mission to convince everyone else of their fallacy. One Jewish writer observing this concluded that the most impressive proof of God’s existence is the fact that wicked men have to soothe their conscience by declaring, “There is no God.” If there is no God, then there is no judge; if there is no judge then there is no consequence of sinful actions. In other words, the fool desires to continue in his folly and must convince himself there is nothing to fear.
The Hebrew word translated fool can also be rendered as senseless and even wicked. One aspect of being senseless is to be unable (or unwilling) to properly reason — in this case mistakenly conclude there is no God. Another aspect of being senseless in this scenario is to be insensitive to the evidence of a Creator although it is right in front of your eyes, not to mention the mountain of evidence that exists in the vastness of the Universe. The problem, though, is the wicked and foolish man allows the dictates of his heart — a heart that, from his youth, imagines evil things (Genesis 8:21) — to control his thoughts and deeds. In so doing, like a leaf that is dying, he slowly begins to wither and fade, becoming increasingly subject to the prevailing winds of society’s whims and corrupt agendas. In short, those who follow their own hearts will eventually follow the masses who are going headlong into destruction.
The righteous are not to behave in this way; in contrast to the foolish man, the wise are to control their hearts. Ironically and mistakenly, we often advise people to “Follow their hearts.” Actually, we need to advise others (and embrace this wisdom for ourselves) not to follow their hearts but be guided by the Spirit of God. It is written that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). In reality, only God can search a heart and discern what is in it depths, which is exactly why we must acknowledge God in all our ways and not follow in the path of foolish, senseless and wicked men. The fool declares, “There is no God.” The righteous declare, “There is no God but the One God — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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