Only fools say in their hearts,
Psalm 14:1
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!
The truth of this statement cannot be overstated; however, it CAN be misstated.
What I mean is this: We (believers) should not “hit someone over the head” with this psalm. After all, the very next verses say the following:
The Lord looks down from heaven
Psalm 14:2-3
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt [useless].
No one does good,
not a single one!
As it turns out, nobody is truly wise (the opposite of foolish). Therefore, in God’s eyes, everyone is a fool — especially those who look down on others. Here’s what Jesus said about calling someone else a fool:
… whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Matthew 5:22
In complete transparency, I have called someone a fool on many occasions. How can I not, with so many around? But I also call myself a fool just as much; after all, I am the same as anyone else when it comes to this.
To my fellow believer I say this: Don’t allow yourself an attitude of superiority simply because you have accepted the cross of Christ to become right with God. If you truly understand your position before Him, then you would have nothing to boast about.
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Rather, simply be thankful that the Lord has given you such an undeserved gift. And hope and pray that those “fools” around you will receive the same gift.
To the unbeliever I would like to say, please be patient with us believers. We are just as messed up as anyone else. And if you don’t think that you are “messed up”, look again. Anything less than perfection in God’s eyes is enough for Him to reject you for all eternity. That’s not a good thing.
Your servant,
Gary
