The Fool

David said this about the foolish man in general ...

Psalms 14:1 ... "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

The fool has a lack of good sense and therefore acts unwisely or imprudently and is easily duped or fooled ... hence the title of fool.  The atheist is the fool above all others universally.  He would not deny God if he were not a fool by nature, and having denied God, it is no wonder that he becomes a fool in practice.

I have noticed that many of the old Bible commentators speak of fools and their folly, meaning the foolishness of sin.  It has been said that sin is always folly, and concerning the atheist ... to attack the very existence of God is the greatest imaginable folly.

To say there is no God is to deny the plainest of evidence ... nature itself.  If I were to deny the existence of fire, would that keep me from burning if I were in it?  The atheist by so doing will not stop the Judge of all the earth from pronouncing judgment upon them.  The atheist or fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God."

A few years back, I worked with a man who told me that his brother-in-law had died a couple days before.  So I asked him if his brother-in-law was a Christian.  He said ... "No, he was an atheist.  He didn't believe in God."

My response was ... "He does now!"  My friend said ... "You don't understand, he didn't believe in God."  So I repeated myself ... "He does now!"  His eyes lit up and a big smile broke across his face when he got it, and then he said ... "Oh, I hadn't thought about that."    

I may have been out of line with my remark, because it wasn't funny, it's really sad, but I wanted to make him realize each one of us will stand before God whether we believe in  God or not.  The point was made.

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."  He may not have said this to others, but the reference here is to what he is thinking in his mind.  His belief is really ... his desire ... because his conduct or actions make him wish it to be true.  He hopes there is no God. 

Next, I want to look at a man named Asaph who just might represent some of us today.  It seems from generation to generation man is still the same ... he becomes tired and exhausted, worn out fighting the good fight of faith.  Sometimes we just give up and quit.  We shouldn't, but some do.  Asaph wrote the following ...  

Psalm 73:1-3 ... "Truly God is good ... to such as are of a clean heart.  But as for me ... my steps had well nigh slipped.  For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

Here we have a half-defeated man of God who declares that God is good to the clean of heart ... but as for me ... am I one of them?  The confession in this case is plain and simple ... my steps have slipped.

"I was envious" ... He saw those who neither worshipped or even believed in the true God, who were in possession of wealth and every comfort, while the godly many times were not.  From all this he was led to doubt whether there was any advantage in serving the Lord.  He questioned whether God blessed the righteous anymore than He did the foolish.

It is bad enough that a man of God should confess, I was envious, but worse still that he was envious of the foolish.  How many of us could say the same thing?

When he saw the prosperity of the wicked and foolish, he was only fixed on their present prosperous condition which was temporal ... he forgot their future.  If all men had wealth and comfort without any trials or affliction, there is reason to doubt whether there would be any faith, hope or preparation upon the earth for a future heaven.  Would man feel the need to seek God?

If not, then he is truly the fool.  Solomon gave us the first step to keep us from playing the fool.

Proverbs 1:7 ... "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

The foolish man becomes the fool when he no longer has any fear or spiritual reverence for Almighty God.  Every intelligent being, if they can think at all, would bring a little caution when they confront God on any level.  Unless you are the fool ... rule number one, the place to start ... is to realize there is a God, and you are not Him.

Solomon said ... fools despise (feel contempt for, and look down on) wisdom and instruction.  And then he added, some did not choose the fear of the Lord ... they would have none of my counsel. 

The prosperity (false security) of fools shall destroy them.

Don't be fooled.