Who's the Fool?

Passage: Psalm 14

The "fool" is a recurring character in a number of Shakespeare’s plays. In both his comedic and tragic works, the fool introduces an element of chaos, humor, and irony, and serves to provide insightful commentary into the lives of the characters and the plot of the play. As such, Shakespeare’s fools are never as they seem. They are often perceived by other characters as simple, unsophisticated, and menial. Only the audience sees the fool’s wisdom and transcendence of the entanglements of the other characters. The fools are never as they seem.

The same is true of the “fool” in Psalm 14. Here the psalmist talks about the kind of person who, by all appearances, is a great success. One who has acquired power and used it to his or her advantage; one who has amassed wealth; one who has outplayed his or her opponents in the game of life. According to the human authors of the Bible, folly and wisdom aren’t measured in intellectual achievement, political prowess, or economic excellence. Rather they are determined by one’s posture toward God. The fool, according to Psalm 14, is the one who denies, in faith and in life, that there is a God. Disbelief in God precipitates a host of self- and other-destructive behaviors. The psalmist identifies greed, violence, and the abuse of the poor, but also makes the blanket statement, “They are corrupt – their deeds are vile.” Nothing that emanates from an unbelieving heart has lasting, or saving, value.

What’s the alternative? Believing in God, and shaping one’s life accordingly. Faith in the one true God necessitates humility. It requires the attitude, “God is God, and I am not.” God demands the throne – over our world, and over our lives. True wisdom is accepting one’s limitations, weaknesses, and sins, and acknowledging one’s dependence on God. Wisdom is expressed in a life of devotion to God and accountability to God’s Law. This seems upside-down to us. It seems foolish. But who’s the real fool? According to the psalmist, it’s the one who ignores all of God’s overtures and insists on going it alone. No matter how smart, strong, or savvy you are, you can’t do for yourself what God promises to do for you. Don’t be a fool.