“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.” (Psalm 14:1)
The epitome of a wasted life is one lived as if there is no Sovereign Lord of all creation who rules in all that He has created, but the absolute pinnacle may be the one who realizes His existence and denies His Sovereignty. In either case, they are both fools and eternal darkness is reserved for them.
Life lived for oneself is generally a life spent in the pursuit of pleasure, and that my friends is nothing less than a fool’s errand, for all pleasures here in this life are temporary. Everyone who has died to self, who lives their life for the glory of God realizes this truth.
Those moments of exhilaration when we see a lost soul come to Christ, when we cannot just feel His presence, but know it as a fact, when long sought after prayers are answered, these too will pass, and days, months, even years may pass with life simply following the normal routine.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11)
True contentment is a pleasure in itself, it is peace in the storm, it is a reassuring calmness when all around you are in turmoil, it is the knowledge that cannot be abated that you are loved and will be eternally. It is the unmitigated truth that you are always in His presence.
“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8)
We see past this world, we find no hope in what it offers, we are not deceived by the riches or pleasures it places before us.
Those fools who say there is no God, when pressed on the matter, will almost always inevitably recant their words, and will offer you their perception of what they believe the Almighty to be, an imagined deity who forgives all, who loves all, who wants nothing but the best for all mankind. To them, the god they envision wants them to be happy. If you mention John 16:33 to them, they will scoff at you, for that is not the god they desire to recognize.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
If you tell them that pain and suffering is one of the telltale marks of a follower of Christ, they will rebuke you, for the god they follow wants nothing but their well being continuously.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2nd Tim. 3:12)
And so, fools that they are, they do indeed serve a god who will grant them what they want, not all of those wants, but most of them.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Fools are easily deceived, and the father of lies, the one they serve, is exceptionally well versed in keeping his followers appeased.
Sin is not an absolute with these we speak of, evil does not exist to them, bad luck, circumstances, superstitious nonsense, pulling themselves up when they are down, these are the god they serve. “God is love and He does not want anyone to suffer,” and so to them we are the fools.
And so we oblige them, we preach the foolishness of the cross, we tell them not one of their good works will avail them anything. And they mock us for serving One that asks us to follow in His footsteps of sorrow and grief, of welcoming trials and tribulations, of denying ourselves for His glory, of dying to self.
We call each other fools.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1st Cor. 15:19)
The god they serve has deceived them, the God we serve speaks truth, you must do the same.
Do you know these truths in your heart, can you recognize the heart of a fool?
