How to Test Negative for Stupid

One of my favorite politicians is Senator Kennedy from Louisiana who has just published a book by that name. The subtitle is provocative as well: And why Washington never will. Watching him on YouTube is always interesting since he asks such good questions and makes such obvious points. Here are some of the “one liners” from his book:

• “If you trust government, you obviously failed history class.”
• “I believe our country was founded by geniuses but is being run by idiots.”
• “Always follow your heart . . . but take your brain with you.”
• “The water in Washington won’t clear until you get the pigs out of the creek.”
• “I have the right to remain silent but not the ability.”
• “Common sense is illegal in Washington, D.C.”

My prior blogs about trying to fix stupid all point to the same conclusion: don’t bother because you can’t … no one but God can do that and, in most cases, God doesn’t seem to care or be concerned.

I recently lead a Sunday School class on the Book of Jonah which included a puppet show performed by my wife Susan on the comparison of the story of Pinocchio and Jonah. You can watch that on the video and the podcast section of this website https://geektheology.net/podcasts (The podcast is at the bottom of the page and titled Sarah the Puppetarian.)

My point was that the Book of Jonah is proof you can’t fix stupid. Jonah is instructed by God to preach repentance to the archrival of the Jews, the Ninevites. Jonah decides that it is futile and attempts to flee in the opposite direction by sea. God sends a storm which alerts the ship crew that someone onboard had sinned (so nonbelieving crew had more faith than Jonah) and Jonah finally admits he is the culprit, so they throw him overboard upon which he is supposedly swallowed by a big fish … call it a whale … after all, who knew a whale was not a fish way back then.

After three days, this smelly prophet is cast up on the beach and reluctantly starts to preach to the Ninevites who almost immediately agree to humble themselves before God and repent … he didn’t get more than about a third of the way through the city … and even the King orders everyone to get right with God.

What does Jonah do? He gets pissed off that God didn’t punish these evildoers and proceeds to have a pity party under a tree provided by God to protect him from the sun, so God then sends a worm to eat the roots of the tree so it withers and dies. We are left at the end of this brief book with a prophet who witnesses the power of God but is so disappointed at God’s mercy he can’t do anything other than wallow in his despair.

Why is this book in the Bible library? I think it was to prove to everyone not only that we can’t fix stupid, but that God can make things right even with stupid people.  Simple advice: pray for them and let it go.

I finished out the Sunday School lesson with a review of the movie Forest Gump where the message that hit me after seeing this movie again was that our natural emphasis on intellectual ability misleads us. While some may object to the characterization of Forrest as demeaning, on balance, the movie emphasizes that the truth in life is in the simple acts of kindness and generosity.

True happiness is summed up in his life: love your neighbor and seek their wellbeing above your own. Forrest never lost his love for Jenny since the first time they met on the school bus and she offered him a seat. Forrest never lost his love for Lt. Dan even though Dan repeatedly wanted to die in the family tradition of wartime heroes.

Most importantly, Forrest never became obsessed with success or any earthly treasure. He lived his life simply and lovingly. The world might define his intelligence as inferior, but perhaps that is the point. I grew to see Forrest as brilliant for the way he lived his life.

His mother continually tried to tell him that he was no different than anyone else. She was wrong … Forrest was very different, and specifically because he didn’t have the distractions others have. Forrest was a far better and a far more godly person than anyone else in the movie or than many of us have met.

You could say he had a simple faith … that of a child. Nope, sorry … I think he had a profound faith because he could always see a path where he could make a difference. He didn’t wait for others to take care of him. He took care of himself and others, even when they didn’t want or respect him for that.

Reward was not his motive … at least not in the sense of earthly reward. It is so ironic that with all his success, his finishes out his life cutting the grass … for free. What a life well lived.  A good lesson for us all, especially at this time.