Practical Atheism
If you ask the random person on the street “do you believe there is a God?” Most people will say that they believe in some kind of higher power. When you start asking them about a personal God that makes demands upon their lives, that is when they show their true colours. Their hearts are exceedingly wicked, and they will not submit to God’s authority over their lives. They live as practical atheists. They may even have grown up around the church, but they only desire self indulgence.
Psalm 14 begins,“The fool has said in his heart ‘There is no God.’” The heart for the Hebrew was the center of the will. The issue is that men and women do not want God involved in their day to day affairs. All that they are, and all that they do is “corrupt”and “abominable” (14:1).
God has evaluated mankind and has found that they do not seek Him or understand Him. There is no one in an unregenerate state that does any good at all (14:2).
It is hard to believe the depths of the wickedness of mankind. The fools casually exploit others for their own gain (14:4). They also rage against the righteous because their shameful deeds are exposed for what they are (14:5-6; Eph 5:11).
In the midst of all of this wickedness the righteous of this world have as their refuge the LORD. Trust in Him, give thanks that He has saved you out of your foolish state. Know that there will be a day of reckoning for the wicked and a day of rejoicing for God’s people (14:7)