Painfully Dumb
Selected Passages
June 20, 2010
Morning Service
Introduction
Everyone has the right to be dumb but some people abuse the priviledge
Growing up we used to watch John Wayne theater – Double feature of super manly movies about men doing super manly things. The four hour section of afternoon television featured a number of John Wayne classics.
Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid – John Wayne
Men I want to ask you a serious question on Father’s Day: Do you ever do anything that is dumb?
Ladies: Do the men in your life ever do anything dumb?
Have you ever done something so dumb that it was painful?
There are times that we do things that are so stupid that inflict pain upon ourselves. Remember that there is more than just physical pain, there is emotional pain as well. There are also times that we do things that inflict pain on others. Our dumb moments are painful.
People have been doing painfully dumb things since the dawn of time. We tend to hit our thumbs with hammers, shut fingers in doors and say things that we will later regret.
One of the things that actually authenticates the stories contained within the Bible are that they are real. When people do dumb things in the Bible, they do not try to cover it up. Instead, it almost seems like God flaunts the dumb things His people do. The Bible is filled with moments that leave you saying duh. There are some super dumb things that people did through the Bible times.
Adam eats the forbidden fruit
Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom and Gommorah – pillar of salt
Noah got drunk after the flood
Samson tells Delilah the secret of his strength
David and Bathsheba
Jonah ran from God
Peter denied knowing Jesus three times
Paul tried to reason with the Greek Philosophers
If you search through your Bible, you are not likely to find the word dumb or stupid. The Bible is filled with dumb actions and examples of people being dumb. The word that often is used to describe the dumb things people do is foolish.
Have you ever wondered why people do dumb things? There are more than a few passages that highlight this truth but I believe Solomon deals with this issue in a powerful way. If you have your Bibles, please open them to Proverbs 4:6
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
Foolish word study
There are six words that are used throughout scripture that describe the dumb things that people do.
Iwwelet – foolishness that is of a moral rather than mental issue
People know right from wrong and choose to do wrong
Kesel – foolishness that is constant – continual stupid actions
People who persist in their foolish behavior
Nabal – foolishness that flows from inner disposition or an inner state of being
People who reveal their inner life by words and actions. They usually ignore God
Aphron – 11 times Possessing a willful ignorance
People who do not know and do not wish to know – the foolish farmer who stored up and then died that night
Anoetos – 6 times Intellectual and spiritual condition before salvation
People are distracted from the truth – see things in a distorted way
Moros 13 times and Moria 5 times
Failure to be sensitive to the leading of God
Why do people do dumb things?
1. Ego
2. Failure to think before acting
3. Rush of life
4. Pride
5. Lack of concern
6. Overconfidence
7. Superiority - #1
8. Following the crowd
Wisdom about being dumb from Proverbs
When we look at dumb things we do, we should seek some advice from wise people. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live and it might help us to look at some of the things he has to say about dumb decisions or being foolish.
No one is immune to stupidity
Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly. Proverbs 13:16
Everyone does dumb things from time to time. There will be moments of genius in your life that make you look great in the eyes of other people. Just remember that those moments of pure genius will often be ruined by moments of sheer stupidity. Stupidity is engrained on our human nature. Paul said that the things he wanted to do he did not do but instead does the dumb things over and over again.
It seems that being dumb and being human goes hand in hand. The fact that we are human almost insures that we will do dumb things. Again and again we are reminded of our dumb choices and the reality of human ignorance.
Dumb actions should be avoided
Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly. Proverbs 17:12
The truth is simple, we should try to avoid doing dumb things. Solomon writes that it is better to encounter a mother bear that has lost her cubs than to encounter a foolish person. Why is Solomon so dramatic when it comes to foolishness? His family was plagued with dumb choices. Think about who Solomon’s parents were for a moment. Solomon’s father was David and his mother was Bathsheba; two people from one of the dumbest mistakes in all of scripture. Solomon watched the aftermath of his half sister being raped, his half brother killing another half brother and his brother Absalom attempting to overthrow David as king. Solomon also had to kill another of his half brothers because of insurrection. Not a great track record for smart choices.
Dumb decisions often carry a heavy price. The problem is that most people are oblivious to the fact that they are one stupid choice away from creating havoc in our lives. Never forget that everyone is one dumb decision away from destruction. Everyone is just one stupid choice from tearing apart their lives.
Sometimes the dumb things we do repeat themselves
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly Proverbs 26:11
History has a way of repeating itself when people fail to learn from their mistakes. There are dumb decisions that weave their way through people’s lives. The problem is that many people never learn from their failures and keep making the same stupid choices over and over. Dumb decisions have a way of encompassing life. Those decisions have a way of surfacing until people realize the course of their actions.
