Chapter 32 The Arrogance of Stupid 2023
We try stuff and make mistakes — if it doesn’t work, the measure of a person is how fast you get off of it…, I try to remember that.
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance
and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I behave properly things make sense, they may be inconvenient, but I push through, even when perhaps my decisions are not popular. Challenges are real and must be dealt with in a sober, clear mind and hopefully in counsel with God. Stupid gets in the way on a regular basis and also needs to be dealt with. When faced with stupid the best scenario is to catch it quick, stand down and get away from it — get back on track. The arrogance of stupid doesn’t allow for that. People, you and I, can and will fight for our right to be stupid and it will cause long term problems. Having said that, I do know that you will be tested, all of us. We can’t have what we have been given, ask for more and then not pass the test of correct thinking. God will teach you and try you so one knows the difference of what works and what doesn’t.
Job 23:10
“But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
We all hope for that in ourselves and each other. Let’s get clear on the things that continue to dog us all. Entitlement is a form of stupid. “I believe I deserve..:” is generally not a good way to start a sentence. Avoid believing you are owed anything, rather base your decisions on what needs to be done, correctly, efficiently and for what is right. There is God and you are not God, don’t act like it, don’t be foolish with power and authority.
Rettig Corporation Principle #2 (of 4): Always supportive, slightly detached and always equal. Be a problem solver not a maker of chaos. Slightly Detached so that when people are not at their best their words don’t break your heart entirely, be far enough from it that you can still make an honorable decision without your feelings getting in the way. I am not above or below anyone, we are equal to our fellows.
Philipians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
3 D’s – Dissension, Division, Deliverance
What exactly happens in the arrogance of stupid? The enemy causes dissension first. That causes division. And it’s usually with the most important people in your life. The only hope I have in this situation is prayer and deliverance from God — that in His power and mercy He gets me through my bad choices and the consequences. Stupid interrupts good things. However, He will, at times, allow me to enjoy the consequences of my actions. Not fun.
I deal with human nature, everyday. People, who are in trouble, simply want to get out of trouble. People generally are not interested in changing anything, maybe in the short term to stop the madness, but forever — not very many make that change. This ultimately means that the original set of problems will be repeated. Arrogance, indignant and entitlement plague most CEO’s and the world for that matter. Shown the correct way people resist. The unfortunate end is negligence, immaturity, indignation and the worst, a lost destiny, yours.
Pro 18:3
When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes reproach.
Behavior is the only reason cash flow is positive or negative. As a CEO we are able to employ and deploy any method we see fit for spending corporate and personal funds. We also have the option to ledger financials correctly or not. As captured by the 19th century British politician Lord Acton “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Without correct checks and balances all people will go astray. King Solomon, reigning over Israel during the times of Circa 970 to 931 BC is quoted in many scripts as saying: “fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Transversely, winners believe in good conversation, discover relevant relationships, employ new ideas, apologize for problems caused and ultimately wisdom prevails.
Behavior is the key. To change, one must provoke the mind and rise above an emotional state. Simply put: “a bad attitude derives pleasure from engaging itself and feels quite superior in doing so,” until of course, your luck runs out.
Pro 12:20
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.
So how to combat our selfish, indignant nature? Oh my, mankind has tried a few times, without God of course. A movement in Europe during the years between 1685-1730 outlined just such a question. Appropriately titled “The Age of Reason” or Enlightenment, Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals and respectively marked the peak of its influence and the beginning of its decline. Why decline? It didn’t work. None of it. People went right back to their old intolerant and easy ways of doing things. Accountability seems to be so much trouble, doesn’t it? Well, yes, of course if you employ stupid.
You see, common sense is not so common and stupid is terribly expensive.
Companies and families alike suffer an incredulous life at the hands of stupid decisions. Enlightenment’s important 17th-century precursors included the Englishmen Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, the Frenchman Renee Descartes and the key natural philosophers of the Scientific Revolution, including Galileo, Kepler and Leibniz. Its roots are usually traced to 1680s England, where in the span of three years Isaac Newton published his “Principia Mathematica” (1686) and John Locke his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689)—two works that provided the scientific, mathematical and philosophical toolkit for the Enlightenment’s major advances. It didn’t work either. None of it, all written by brilliant men. There no memory of any of it. We, as a people, simply don’t care to read such great books.., nor do we benefit from the excellent writings inside of those books. Why? Because, as a human race, we seem to have a problem remembering the past. So, what’s the point? Learning is the point. And finally retaining what has been learned and not repeating stupid in the chronic name of arrogance and madness. Set down “know-it-all” thinking. Honor the process of learning without resistance — destroy indignant thinking. How do I that? Accept the fact that my very best thinking, my very best thinking, gets me into a lot of trouble. How can I do better than my best? Now, there you go — a really important question? I can’t do better than my best — without God. Not for me…, no amount of information without God sticks..
Joshua 1:8
New King James Version
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[a] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Resist the need to be right — when you could be absolutely wrong. Learn the difference between wasting time and efficient time, relevant and irrelevant. Take a moment to ask a question, clarify, understand, perhaps engage a conversation. Otherwise, if I don’t do these things — what is my name? Come on think about it. Without knowledge, competent clear knowledge, my name is what?
“Ignorant”
With that name, the world will deal with me harshly and I will fail my children, God and all that is good in my life. If taken down by this monster I’ve fallen away from wisdom and knowledge and God. I’ve become part of the ranks of wasted talent. The world will forget me, I will forget me. I join a short list of losers of the world, why is short? Because nobody even bothered to write my name or those other stubborn individuals that will not yield to common sense. Please, hear me, my friends. Fight against mediocrity and yourself. Revolt against yourself and evolve. Revolution/Evolution. Heaven and Earth look for one thing and one thing only:
“A Leader”
Luke 12:48 New International Version (NIV)
48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Some people ask me, why does it matter what the world thinks of me? I say this: If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything. There’s no honor in that. We remember the apostles and the prophets for the great things they DID with God here on this Earth.
So, If you’re going to fall — stand for Jesus.
There is a story in the book of Isaiah 35. Isaiah tells the great prophesy of the end of the world and as it talks about it he describes a “Highway of Holiness.” A safe place for believers. A road lifted high above the ground, the highest engineering feat ever accomplished — a road that made a way from sin to holiness. A road over the mountains of our own stupid.
“Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray..”
Although a fool,” describes me and you. However the road, As believers in Jesus, the Messiah — is for all those in Christ, all those God is still working on. There is guardrails on dangerous curves, He keeps us from falling off as He develops the wisdom and maturity in us that will also keep us on the highway. And I want to stay on the highway.
Isaiah 35:9
No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there.
The devil is not on this highway, nor anything that can harm the believer. As the prophesy continues, the passenger on the road arrives where God lives, happy, singing praises to the Lord, the blind can see, the deaf hear, weak and crippled healed.
God will wipe away every tear, no more death, sorrow or crying, no pain the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
There is a catch. This highway isn’t for everyone. It has a “toll booth,” but you can’t make it on this highway by paying your way. You are only allowed on this highway if you are cleansed by the great work of the Messiah.
A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others.
This amazing, amazing prophesy, outlines the miraculous power of Jesus that comes to us, heals and provides for us, and the blessing even more amazing that is our walk to salvation with God. And stupid, stupid, stupid thinking keeps us from all of it…
Do you believe in such a prophesy or do you think it is just a story in the Bible? I asked the same question. And then studied for the answer. Here it is. About 2,500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2,000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter—no errors. The remaining 500 reach into the future and will be seen unfolding as days go by, just like this one. How do I know? The odds for all these 2000 prophecies having been fulfilled by chance “without error” is less than one in 10 2000 (that is 10 to the 2000th power, 1 with 2,000 zeros written after it)! God’s acid test for identifying a prophet is as written in Deuteronomy 18:21 — the litmus test for a prophet, 100 percent accuracy in predictions, i.e. prophesy. That’s a pretty big statement — and it has come to pass time after time after time.
Bad times are here and worse are coming for the world. You’re okay, I’m okay, today we have a list, thank you Jesus. Pay attention to what you are doing and why. Chapter 32, The Arrogance of Stupid — here I’ve outlined “not paying attention,” “failing at the responsibilities of what is at hand.”
Leave stupid alone, stay alert, leave no room for shenanigans…, a hard lesson for me for sure for a long, long time — and it cost me and everyone around me, including my children.
Philippians 4:8
King James Version
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Amen.
