Literal dictionary meaning of the word “a fool” is “a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.”

The word of God defines “a fool or foolish person” this way:

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”” Psalm 14:1aESV

Hmm! So we become fools when we say in our heart, “There is no God.”

Who would see our heart? Only God, right? Yeah! That is the main issue. But not only that! There is also a way for us to know whether our heart or others’ heart says “There is no God” by this:

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

Wow!

According to the word of God, “Fool” people are not necessarily intellectually challenged. They can be smarter than anybody around them but their moral compass is broken and corrupted; and their deeds, when evaluated, not intellectually but morally, they are found to be “abominable deeds,” deeds which are “causing moral revulsion.”

What is the root of their moral rottenness?

Unbelief in their heart!

They may be a member of a specific church and may even get involved in church activities and services, they may be choir members or worship leaders or preachers but in their heart, they say, “There is no God.”

When a person heart says, “There is God,” that same heart says to the person, “You are living in the presence of God, God sees and hears everything you think, say and do.”

Joseph is a good biblical character in this regard. We find his story in the Book of Genesis chapter 37 through 50.

When Joseph was in his late teen years or early twenties, Joseph was working at Potiphar’s house (Potiphar was an officer of Pharaoh, “the captain of the bodyguard” Genesis 37:36). While he was working there, Potiphar’s wife began to entice him to sleep with her. And Joseph said, “No.” It is not like she asked him once. Here is the story:

“From the time that he [Potiphar] made him [Joseph] overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.  So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.” Genesis 39:5-10ESV

Look at the end of verse 9 again: – “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

For Joseph, God is present everywhere, as it is true of God’s character (Omnipresence). Even if the woman asked Joseph to lie with her at the presence of nobody, Joseph heart says, “There is God!”

Do you see that?

When our heart says, “There is God,” we know that we do all our lives in the presence of God, we think, speak and do everything in His presence. But when our heart secretly denies the presence of God, we desire things which dishonor God and us.

Thus, all moral corruption comes from unbelief! It is the unbelieving heart that produces “abominable deeds.” And this kind of faith lives on in us as we abide in God’s word because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17NASB

But if the word of God has no place in our lives, unbelief takes over our heart and while we sit in the church, professing to follow Jesus Christ, we say in our hearts, “There is no God.”

May God through His living word fill our hearts with faith! ///