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"Stupid" Is A Biblical Word (But it doesn't mean what you think it means)

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Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

 From my kitchen table I can look out into the backyard where the earth is covered in a blanket of snow. Our Christmas tree, which we plan to burn, occupies our vacant deck. Even though it is lying on the boards horizontally as if dead (actually, it is dead), it is covered in snow and gives the slight feel of being up north where pine after pine is decorated in snow, giving glory to God who dusted them so artistically.

This scene has nothing to do with this blog, other than it was the place I was sitting when I read the Bible with my eight year old son this morning. January 12, that means Proverbs 12. So simple, even an eight year old can understand, the tricky part is making the Bible more interesting than any device with the so called retina display. The Bible has retina display, you know. In fact, there is no damage on the retina to read the Bible the old fashioned way. Speaking of trees, this paper used to be one. Before, it declared the glory of God generally (Psalm 19:1), now it reveals the creator specifically. Not even Steve Jobs could pull that off. If only my eight year old were that impressed with the work of God. We pray, we pray. And before I pin all the blame on the eight year olds of the world, I have more in common with him than I care to admit. There is a reason I pray for discipline in my time in God's word and pray for discipline to limit my time of leisure on a shiny screen.

Back to the Bible. We didn't have much time so verse one is as far as we got. This is fine, actually. Because one nugget of God's truth has more riches than we can chew up in one sitting. Ben read according to his plodding eight year old capacities. Whoever -  loves - discipline - loves - know...knowledge - but - he - who - hates - reproof - is - stupid...

 Insert giggles here. In fact, the slow build up of reading seemed to tip us off that something unusual was about to come. It was as if Ben saw the word "stupid" written on the page before he said it out loud. By the time he spoke it it came out in a breath of laughter and disbelief. Elise, my nine year old daughter was standing by. "Does it really say that?" she blurted. In joyful affirmation my son confirmed the sound waves that just made their way into her eardrums. Indeed,  "stupid" is a biblical word.

So it's pastor dad to the rescue. I was in my kitchen table pulpit (this one comes with a mug of coffee)  and I was on mission: "rescue the Bible from being a juvenile collection of culturally frowned upon put-downs." Think about it. When was the last time you heard a kid use this word? Wasn't it always followed up with some kind of scolding? We don't hear kids running around church applying the word "stupid." For good reason.

Unfortunately, the word has been slanted a bit in our culture to mean something along the lines of a put-down or a slander of sorts. If this is how stupid is used, then yes, we should encourage our children to refrain from usage.

However, Scripture uses stupid to describe ignorance. Not ignorant in the sense that a third grader doesn't know what 3+2 is "oh you are so stupid!" The Bible isn't talking about someone who is intellectually dull. It is talking about ignorance as senselessness, like an animal who doesn't have the capacity to respond to reasonableness. In other words, stupid as it is used in Scripture  carries the notion that a person is stupid because they refuse to be responsive to God and his ways. In the biblical sense, stupidity isn't a put-down for being dimwitted...stupidity is related to a heart of rebellion against God and an insistence on your own way, a key theme in Proverbs.

"Stupid" is a biblical word, but it isn't used the way Americans use it. It isn't meant to put anyone down. It is a strong word of love spoken to warn the one who rebels against God's wisdom and God's authority. It is an invitation to wisdom and life. God places people along the way to reprove and correct. Those who show a pattern of hatred of correction from other people show that they ultimately hate God and the rightful place he occupies in authority. This is animal-like, this is senseless, this is stupidity. God is love, and he is loving enough to point it out so we can repent of it. Don't be stupid. The opposite of stupidity: accepting correction.

Proverbs reveals wisdom that is for all ages, though it does seem to target the young. May our children be raised with an appreciation for authority, so as to be responsive to correction. May parents who wield this authority recognize their responsibility to model God's love. May we not make our kids feel stupid in the American sense through our frustration of their natural childlike folly or limitations. Rather, may children sense love and hope as they are encouraged to find life in responding to our parenting and ultimately to the living God.

I have a few more things to say about how parents can help their kids avoid biblical stupidity, I will address this tomorrow, January 13.


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