Gospel Reflections #1116: Who are the Foolish?

Psalm 14:1 ‘The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; they have done abominable deeds; there is none who does good.’

This condemns the moral corruption and arrogance of people who live their lives ignoring God.

‘Those who do not know God’ are also called ‘fools’; this does not simply refer to a lack of intelligence, but to an arrogant attitude of deliberately ignoring God and living by one’s own standards.

The attitude of ‘there is no God’ is not theoretical atheism, but a practical form of atheism characterised by contempt, believing that ‘God does not see my actions’ and ‘He will not hold me to account’.

It is pointed out that, as a result of having wholeheartedly shut God out, socially and morally self-centred behaviour (such as the exploitation of the weak) becomes rampant, and in the truest sense, there is not a single person left who does good.

Foolish people who do not know God do not acknowledge Him; they behave arrogantly, fearing not the gaze of God and convincing themselves that ‘there is no God’—the result (reality) of which is that abominable deeds and injustice abound.

Psalm 14 depicts how humanity is drifting away from God and destroying itself, whilst in the latter half it speaks of the hope that God will be a ‘refuge’ for the righteous.

It is written that whilst God protects those who believe in Him, when He rises up to judge, terror will seize the wicked.

Yet, although David knew from personal experience that God truly exists, he did not distinguish between those who knew Him and those who did not; rather, he hoped that Israel—who refused to seek God—would one day acknowledge Him and be saved as a community.

God hates sin, yet He loved sinners.

This is God’s character.

We, too, should not focus solely on our own spirituality or salvation, but turn our attention to those who do not seek to know God; rather than making distinctions, we should seek to reflect God’s character so that we may invite them to Him.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.