Most people don’t like to be called ‘stupid’, but some time or other all of us will do or say some very dumb things. Some of those things might be genuine mistakes on our part, or they may be due to our lack of knowledge and understanding, or maybe we just didn’t think things through before we speak or act. No matter what the reason, we can still look or feel like idiots at times! How embarrassing!

 The biggest mistakes we make are when we fail to act in keeping with our faith. We Christians have the Word of God to enlighten us and give us direction. You would expect that with all the teaching we receive and all the knowledge and understanding that we gain from our Creator, that we would be immune from doing or saying really stupid things. Well think again!

 It is just amazing how dumb some of us believers can be and how much we can mess up our lives, especially when we think we know better than God and fail to be people of true faith. Take Abraham and Sarah as Old Testament examples. They are presented as people of faith (Heb 11:8-12). Abraham was considered the father of the Jewish nation. He is even seen as the father of our Christian faith (Gal 3:6-9, 29). Yet Abraham and Sarah (even though they were giants of faith) show us the classic example of four stupid things believers do to mess up their lives (Genesis 16:1-12).

 1. We Let Our Desires Overrule Good Sense
Emotions and feelings can get the better of us. It did with Sarah as the pain of being childless drove her to find her own solution rather than waiting on God.

2. We Listen to Those Who Are Unfamiliar With The Word of God
Abraham knew very well that God had promised him children, but he listened to Sarah who knew much less about God’s plans. Her advice was incorrect.

3. We Blame Others For Things We Bring Upon Ourselves
When things went wrong for Sarah and Abraham they played the ‘blame someone else game’. This never works and is a sure sign of immature (=dumb) behaviour.

4. We Shirk Our Responsibility For The Sake Of Keeping The Peace
Abraham should have taken positive action to correct the mess. Instead he failed to act appropriately and the mess just got worse.

 It’s easy to see ‘stupidity’ in others as they mess up their lives. What’s that I hear you say? “You wouldn’t be so dumb”? Well I sure hope not, but I remain to be convinced!