The Fool

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." - Psalms 14:1a

When you read that, what comes to mind?

Maybe it's someone? That family member, friend, coworker, or neighbor who mocks you for you belief in 'fairy tales'. Perhaps it's that friend whose anger seems to bubble over when talk of 'religion' comes up. Maybe it's all those internet people ... those with many honest but hurtful words, or the internet trolls with meaningless words just having fun getting a rise out of people.

Most theologians seem to agree that David indeed is talking about those who truly reject the idea of God; atheists.

David looked at those who denied the existence of God and came to the conclusion that they are fools. The idea behind this ancient Hebrew word translated fool is more moral than intellectual. David did not have in mind those not smart enough to figure God out (no one is that smart); he had in mind those who simply reject God. - David Guzik

OK pretty clear - I get it ...

However as I was reading the passage today, God spoke to me a bit differently.

For the record, I am not trying to change what David meant, twist Scripture, or apply an eisegetical approach to the text (putting my own thoughts, presuppositions, or biases into a passage) - I'm simply stating that this truth may be applied in another way as well ... to another fool ...

     ... self

The fool says in his heart ...

We live our life in faith under Grace (thank you Jesus for that - else I don't know where I would be). However how we live our life is often a reflection of what our heart speaks ... do our actions (the outpouring of our hearts) speak to the world "There is a God!" ... or do our actions speak to the world "There is a me!"?

This is not a guilt trip - and don't let Satan rob you of the encouragement for the positive kingdom work you are doing ... but I would be even more of a fool to think that there are not areas of my life where I live for self, not God.

And at the root of that?

Control ... lack of trust ... lack of faith ... as if my heart says "there is me" ...

'The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" ' - Luke 17:5

May we live a life that while not perfected, is directed towards God ... and the more we trust, the more we can watch God prove Himself in our lives ...

Letting go of control is hard ... trust outside self is hard ... submission is hard ...

Yet as Christians, while we may feel the tug of sin and control pull at our heart, is there not a deeper, louder cry of a Truth within us? One that wants to step out of the boat an walk on the water to our Lord?

May we choose today ... one day at a time ... to show the world and God that we trust in Him by the choices we make ... and train our heart to naturally respond "my Lord, my God" ...

His,
~Matthew