Facing Our Own Foolishness
Dave Faust
At first glance Psalm 14:1 sounds like a slap in the face to atheists: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Something in me likes that verse—even finds smug satisfaction in it. "Take that, you hard-hearted philosophy professor spouting faith-killing theories in your Ivy League lecture hall! Wipe that smirk off your face, you irreverent comedian who mocks believers and makes fun of Jesus."
My smugness melts away, however, when I read the rest of Psalm 14. God has something to say in this chapter to everyone, including those who believe in him.
Unavoidable Facts
The evidence of God's existence speaks for itself. If you can contemplate the intricate design of the eye, the vast mysteries of outer space, the mechanics of human finger movement, the aspirations of the human spirit, and the complex information encoded in DNA, then say it all happened without a designer—as the result of sheer, blind accident—then you believe in a miracle more astounding than any described in the Bible. Fred Hoyle, a prominent British scientist, argued that the chance of higher life forms emerging by accident is like a 747 jet being assembled by a tornado sweeping through a junkyard. Even the problem of evil points to God as the ultimate standard of good and our hope for relief from suffering. Bible commentator Alexander MacLaren observed, "The difficulties of faith are 'gnats' beside the 'camels' unbelief has to swallow."
But Psalm 14 not only reminds us about the fact of God's existence. It goes on to describe what happens when people ignore God: "They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven . . . to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" (vv. 2, 3).
Who are these villains, anyway? Who are these God-deniers who choose darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19)? Who are these corrupt individuals who "devour God's people as men eat bread" and "do not call on the Lord" and "frustrate the plans of the poor" (Psalm 14:4, 6)?
Let's be honest. You and I can find ourselves in these ugly verses. In the New Testament the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 14 and applies it to all of us. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," he concludes (Romans 3:10-23).
Accountability—and Grace
Some reject God on intellectual grounds, but more often it's a lifestyle issue—a rejection of moral accountability. Sinners can't find God for the same reason a bank robber doesn't want to find a police officer. True belief in God requires obeying him as well, but there's something rebellious in the human heart that wants to go our own way, independent of divine authority.
We can't escape the reality of God's existence, nor can we escape the reality of our own culpability for disobeying him. Thankfully, Romans 3 ("all have sinned") leads to Romans 5 ("while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"). And that's good news for any of us who, like fools, have ever thumbed our noses at God.
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Jan 15, 2012.
Facing Our Fears
Some fears are mislabeled. We call it "stage fright," but we're not afraid of the stage; we're afraid of the audience. Children say they're afraid of the dark, but their anxiety actually springs from the threats that lurk in the darkness, not from the lack of light itself.
Failure Isn't Final—but One Day It Will Be
Thank the Lord, on this side of eternity failure isn't final! If failure were final we wouldn't have a Bible, because all of its human authors were sinners—some of them quite notable ones. Because of his disobedience to God, Moses wasn't allowed to enter the Promised Land, yet he wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. David committed adultery, yet he wrote about half of the Psalms. Paul called himself the chief of sinners, yet he wrote about half of the New Testament. Mark deserted his missionary team and became the center of a conflict between Paul and Barnabas, but later he wrote one of the four Gospels and Paul said "he is helpful to me in my ministry" (2 Timothy 4:11). John was an ambitious, fiery young man—one of the brothers Jesus nicknamed "sons of thunder"—but eventually he wrote five books of the New Testament filled with love and truth. Impulsive and brash, Peter denied the Lord three times after boasting he would never fall away, yet the Lord used him to write two books of the New Testament.