God called me stupid!
Really! He did it publicly, too – right out in front of, well, in front of himself and everybody. Talk about humiliating!
And, pssst, I hate to break it to you, but I think he said the same thing about you.
I couldn’t believe he would say such a thing about me! You, well that’s not such a big deal, but me? But, it’s true; I’ve got it in writing. Not what we expect from one who’s supposed to be a kind, loving father to us, huh? But, sometimes even a kind, loving father needs to get our attention.
Of course, I disagreed. I wanted to argue. But then I realized that arguing with God would be really stupid - and it would sort of prove his case, wouldn’t it? And, that’s just it. That’s why he called me (and you) stupid. We don’t listen sometimes, especially if we’re being corrected, and especially when it comes in the form of criticism from other people.
But, listen (unless you want to be stupid) to what God said to me through the wise words of Solomon: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is STUPID” (Proverbs 12:1, NIV, emphasis mine).
There it is! That’s where God called me stupid. I do not like correction. Never have. I hate being told what I’m doing wrong. It embarrasses me, and so often it seems unjustified (sometimes it really is; we’ll talk about that next week). So, I tune it out and work hard to ignore it.
Oddly, people do that even when they ask for the correction. People pay a preacher to say how destructive premarital and extramarital sex is. But, do they listen? Churches hear Jesus’ warnings about traditions becoming so embedded as to make worship wasted, but stubbornly cling to old ways. Folks come to me for guidance, but refuse to follow instructions provided by God himself. Correction just isn’t very popular. Which suggests that maybe we aren’t very smart.
Albert Einstein is reported to have said (and he’s no longer here to deny it), “There are only two truly infinite things, the universe and stupidity. And I am unsure about the universe.”
Stupidity may not be infinite, but it’s not endangered either. Plenty of us hate correction. Or did. I’m trying to learn to be less stupid about it. Care to join me on that quest?
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