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

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   Let’s face it — we all love shortcuts. It’s like the kid who was told to clean his room but he stuffs all his things under his bed ‘cause he’s in a hurry; or our friend who tried to take a shortcut to Death Valley through a desert route – gotta love GPS! The shortcut didn’t work out and he eventually had to backtrack. Really – there is no shortcut to anything worth doing right. As someone once put it: “A shortcut is sometimes the longest distance between two points.” 

   Shortcuts – they can certainly be convenient, and for the most part they are quite harmless. But really – there are some things that we just can’t afford to shortcut – think diets, safety measures with equipment, or — our relationship with our Creator. 

   Many believe there are shortcuts to God. But Matthew 7 tells us this: “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.”

   Donald Miller once quipped – “The problem with Christian belief – I mean real Christian belief, the belief that there is a God and a devil and a heaven and a hell – is that it is not a fashionable thing to believe.” No – it’s not fashionable because it’s a narrow way and most people want a shortcut – a broad way to God. 

   As one Biblical scholar put it, the broad way has all kinds of tolerance for sin. Every ‘man-made’ religious system is part of the scenery of the broad way – the easy way – the shortcut. But think about it – people often criticize Christians because we believe there is only one way to God. But, as a pastor once commented: “If God said there were forty-eight ways to salvation I’d preach and write about all forth-eight of them. But there aren’t.” Jesus said of Himself, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from Me.” No short-cuts. 

   Tiger Woods starting golfing when he was three. On the pro circuit he would hit as many as 1000 practice balls each day. There are stories of him practicing 14 hours a day, putting on the green for hours with bleeding hands, all the while he was number one in the world making 50 million per year. He would tell you in a heartbeat that he took zero shortcuts on his road to success!!

   The trouble with short-cuts is that in taking one, there is a very real possibility that you might not reach your destination! They often don’t lead where you really want to go! (Think God) Buddha can’t lead you to God. Mohammed can’t lead you to God! None of the millions of Hindu gods can direct you to God, nor can Joseph Smith lead you to God!! Taking the ‘God shortcut’ can lead to a lifetime of regret. And actually – that shortcut will lead to an eternity of regret. 

   There’s an amusing narrative about a guy who was driving his aunt and cousins to Georgia from New York. When he got near Georgia, he was exhausted and started looking for a shortcut. He soon found one and left the main road for parts unknown. Soon enough he realized that he was on some type of road through the Smokey Mountain National Park. 

   It was three am in the morning, on a scary, narrow mountain road – no guard rails, and…by his own admission, it was the most terrifying drive of his life! Instead of doing 55 on the highway, he was now crawling at 15 mph with his family having a nail biting contest in the backseat. Shortcuts are just not always what they’re cracked up to be!  

   As Gary Busey once said, “If you take shortcuts, you get cut short.” This one is big – please don’t shortcut yourself out of a life with God!  Selah!

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

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   On the drive down we listened to “Oldies but Goodies” on the radio, singing along to just about every song. Guess that makes us one of the “oldies!” A song came along that I hadn’t heard in ages sung by Barry McGuire – Eve of Destruction. The song was written in 1965 and recorded in just one take on a Tuesday morning with McGuire reading lyrics scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper.

   I thought as we drove that there’s just something a bit bizarre about listening to a song about our world blowing up at any moment but here we are – almost 60 years later – attending a wedding with grandchildren and great’s – like…we’re still here!! But the song was extremely popular and reached number one on the US singles chart, even as it sparked plenty of political commentary with its provocative lyrics! Why?

   Mainly because so many people believed it – and – people revel in being scared. It’s strange! Fear!! It catches peoples’ attention quite like nothing else. Think about it – our society traffics in fear. Amusement parks try their hardest to scare the puddin’ out of people with monster rides while our culture laces itself with health fears, political fears, and fears from war & violence.

   People intentionally read fear-based novels and watch movies that frighten the daylights out of them. Our internet lists over 550 different types of phobias (extreme fear) with dogs, heights, spiders, water, flying, bees, bats, darkness & dust topping the list. Fear seems to permeate our entire culture today!

   But thankfully, the Bible takes a different view of fear. The two-word phrase “fear not” appears 61 times in the Bible and phrases like “fear ye not” appear another 31 times. The Bible tells us that one day “men’s hearts will fail them for fear.” Things are going to get dicey, but God will prevail — so, fear not!

   Isaiah 43 clinches it all with this: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end – because I am God, your personal God, your Savior.” God has promised to meet you just where you are and at whatever fear level you’re experiencing at any given time! That is amazing!

   This is completely opposite of what the world feeds us. In 1947, the “Doomsday Clock” was adopted by atomic scientists to show how close we are to global annihilation. Back then the clock was set at 7 minutes to midnight. The clock is now set at just 90 seconds. Definitely not moving in the right direction, but here’s THE question: who’s your 911? Who’s your “go-to” when fear attempts to overtake you? A ‘shrink?’ Food? A friend? Or God? As usual, we all have a choice. 

   Trying to wrap this up on a positive note, I’m sure all you parents know it’s scary 

being a parent. We can fear for our children and for good reason – kids are unpredictable, schools are challenging, and our culture can capture our children at younger & younger ages. But here are some whacky things parens have learned while maneuvering their way through the ‘scary’ maze of childhood ~

   ~ A king-sized waterbed holds enough water to fill the entire bedroom 3 inches deep. ~ If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite. ~ A 3 year-olds voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. ~ Super glue is forever. ~ Garbage bags do not make good parachutes. ~ Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving. ~The fire department in Austin, TX has as 5-minute response time. OMG to all of the above.

   But – here’s the bottom line: Life is a grand adventure. Life is good. Life is challenging. Life takes courage to navigate. So, why not let God be your 911?!

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

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