What does the phrase “willful ignorance” mean? A quick Google search results in definitions such as “a decision in bad faith to avoid being informed about something,” “the practice of intentional avoidance of facts and empirical evidence,” and “the state of ignoring any sensory input that appears to contradict one’s inner model of reality.” In other words, refusing to see truth.

This is the dilemma in the classic novel “Fahrenheit 451.” The story takes place in a dystopian future where books have been banned by the government because they are “evil” and cause people to think. (Perhaps not as dystopian as the author originally intended…) A fireman named Montag, whose life’s work is to discover and burn books, meets a young woman and begins to question his reality. He steals and reads a book and becomes aware of the world around him. His wife Millicent, whose life is so empty she attempts suicide at the beginning of the story, refuses to read the book, preferring the willful ignorance that is accepted by society. She chooses the “ignorance is bliss” propaganda that has taken over the world.

I couldn’t help but think of this book when I read today’s psalm. Psalm 14 is David’s treatise on the sad state of people who reject the truth of God’s presence. He calls such people “fools” who ignore the plain evidence all around them that proves God’s existence. Creation and human history offer abundant proof of God’s nature, power, and providence, but these profoundly fallen people chose to ignore every empirical piece of truth. They chose their practical atheism with a unwavering rejection of God that causes David to call them “Nabal.” In Hebrew, this word indicates more of a moral assessment rather than an intellectual one. It’s not that they aren’t smart enough to acknowledge God, it is that they simply choose to live as though God doesn’t exist … they choose willful ignorance.

Psalm 14:1-7 (Common English Bible)

Fools say in their hearts, There is no God.
    They are corrupt and do evil things;
    not one of them does anything good.

² The Lord looks down from heaven on humans
    to see if anyone is wise,
    to see if anyone seeks God,
³         but all of them have turned bad.
        Everyone is corrupt.
        No one does good—
        not even one person!

⁴ Are they dumb, all these evildoers,
    devouring my people
    like they are eating bread
        but never calling on the Lord?

⁵ Count on it: they will be in utter panic
    because God is with the righteous generation.
⁶ You evildoers may humiliate
    the plans of those who suffer,
        but the Lord is their refuge.

⁷ Let Israel’s salvation come out of Zion!
        When the Lord changes
        his people’s circumstances for the better,
        Jacob will rejoice;
        Israel will celebrate!

But David knew that choosing to ignore God does no good. God is as real as the rising sun and the setting moon. The corrupt life and evil things that fools choose are revealed because truth always prevails.

We who have met the Truth and call him Jesus can rejoice in the ending of David’s psalm. Indeed, Israel’s salvation came from Zion. Christ changed our circumstances for the better and he will come again. 

This reading challenges us to consider if we are also guilty of willful ignorance. Are we ignoring uncomfortable truths about God’s plan for all of humanity? Are we turning away from the call to love the marginalized the way that God loves them? Do we tithe as we should?

 May we read our beloved Word and choose truth. Always.

True As the Rising of the Sun by Michelle Robertson