Someone once tried on a coat in T.J.Maxx. Turned out it was the coat of a customer next to them trying on another coat. After flunking a job interview, the job applicant got up, shook everyone’s hand, and walked into the coat closet. A gentleman attending a funeral was thanked by a grieving family for coming to the funeral. He responded, “No, thank you.” A man called the local police and reported that his neighbor’s dog was being a jerk.
Everyone does dumb things from time to time. There are moments of genius in our lives that make us look amazing but those temporary flashes of pure genius will often be followed by times of sheer stupidity. It seems to be engrained on our human nature. Even the Apostle Paul said that the things he wanted to do he did not do, but instead did the ‘dumb’ things over and over again!
But people have been doing painfully dumb things since the beginning of time.
One of the things that actually authenticates Biblical stories is that they are real people acting real. When people did dumb things they didn’t try to cover it up. The Bible is full of moments that often leave us shaking our heads in disbelief. Think Adam & Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Remember Lot’s wife looking back at Sodom & Gomorrah and turning into a pillar of salt. And what about Noah getting drunk after all that grueling and exclusive time with his family on the ark. I think he just had an old-fashioned meltdown!
Everyone has the right to be dumb but some people abuse the privilege. Remember good ol’ John Wayne? He had a great one-liner that people still remember to this day: “Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid.”
If you search through your Bible you will not find the word dumb or stupid although it’s filled with dumb actions and examples of people being stupid. The word that is most used to describe dumb things people do is foolish. Proverbs 18:2 tells us, “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.” One translation tells us: “Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth.”
Solomon wrote this thought-worthy verse in Proverbs 17: “Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.” Why was Solomon so dramatic when it came to foolishness? Probably because his family was plagued with dumb choices. Just think about who Solomon’s parents were for a moment. His father was David and his mother was Bathsheba – two people from one of the dumbest mistakes in all of scripture.
Solomon no doubt watched the aftermath of his half sister being raped, his half brother killing another half brother and his brother Absolom attempting to overthrow David as King of Israel. Solomon also had to kill another of his half brothers because of insurrection The family definitely did not have a great track record for wise choices!
One day a golfer was hanging out at the local golf course when the club pro brought another man out for a lesson. The pro watched the fellow swing several times before making several suggestions for improvement, but each time the man interrupted with
his own version of what was wrong and how he could correct it. After a few minutes of this interference, the pro began nodding his head in agreement. At the end of the lesson, the student paid the pro, congratulated him on his expertise as a teacher and left.
The observer was so astonished by all this that he asked, “Why did you go along with him?” “Son,” the old pro said with a grin, “I learned a long time ago that it’s a waste of time to sell answers to a man who wants to only buy echoes.”
Proverbs 18 gives us keen insight here – “Those who answer before they listen are foolish.” But some dumb decisions can carry a hefty price tag with probably the biggest price tag being where you spend eternity. Psalm 14:1 reminds us that “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” We can deny God’s existence but guess what?! He’s still here!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
