Don’t Be an Idiot

Michael Scott: “What is the most inspiring thing I’ve ever said to you?"
Dwight Schrute: “Don’t be an idiot. Changed my life.” [To camera] “Whenever I’m about to do something I think- ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”

More people should take this advice. I’ve become appalled at many of the things I’ve come across in society. Here is a shortened list of what I have deemed my “List of Stupid People”:

• People who play Taserball (Yes. It’s a real thing.)

• People who go on Judge Judy thinking they will look smarter for it

• People who do things that warrant a trip to Judge Judy in the first place

• People who change their name to World Peace (What happens when he dies? All hope is lost? I don’t think he thought this one through…)

• People who think it’s a good idea to ski off a snowboarding ramp on their second time ever on skiis (This may or may not have been me.)

• Girls who wear shirts or hold signs that say ‘Free Hugs’

• People who think it’s okay for their dog to take and eat a tennis ball that is sitting right outside a tennis court where people are currently playing tennis

• People who think cannonballing into a solid ice pool is somehow a good idea

• People who spend hundreds of dollars a month for cigarettes and alcohol (not illegal) yet claim they can’t afford to have car insurance (illegal)

• People who try to open exterior doors with small metal doorknobs in the winter with their mouths (this may or may not have also been me)

As much as those inspiring words were meant to be a joke, I actually see quite a bit of value in them. These words really could change lives. Imagine how many foolish acts could be avoided if we just used our heads a little bit more profitably. Asking ourselves if idiots would do such things. I can honestly say I’ve used this a number of times. It’s not everyday that either Michael or Dwight has good ideas, but let the records show- it has happened. Don’t be idiots.

I have recently discovered I could add another to my list of stupid people. Something that I unfortunately have to own as a prominent description of myself lately: People who say they know God but don’t trust him because they somehow have a better idea about how life works.

Mike and I were talking about this the other night. There are times where we feel close to God and times where we don’t. There are times when we trust God and times when we don’t. On this particular night I was feeling close to God but was struggling with trust. Mike was feeling distant from God but clinging to trust. I asked- How can you trust someone you aren’t close to? His answer opened my eyes to my shortcoming: “Because I know him.”

Four words that hold a very deep meaning. Just the fact that the Creator of the universe and Almighty God allows us to know him is monumental in itself, but knowing the character and nature of that personal God is an immense realization. God is a loving, powerful, sovereign being who has our best interests in his plans. And he is faithful. Oh how he’s faithful. Mike continued: “He has been faithful to me my whole life. When has he ever given me a reason to doubt him?” And that is so true.

Wayne Grudem describes this ability to trust in his Bible Doctrine book: ‘The more we come to know a person, and the more we see in that a person a pattern of life that warrants trust, the more we find ourselves able to place trust in him to do what he promises, or to act in ways on which we can rely.’

If I am going to claim to be close to him or to know him- I can’t NOT trust him. That would be a blatant opposition to the character I would profess to know. I would be stupid to think somehow I’m better off trusting myself. I mean I’ve been known to have a good idea or two, but when it comes to my life’s direction as a whole- what better place to entrust that than the all-knowing Creator of the universe who loves me and has a specific purpose for me.

Right now, my life’s circumstances don’t make it easy for me to trust. There are a lot of uncertainties that seem impossible to ignore. I’ve grown impatient, worried, helpless, and at times hopeless. But maybe God’s just trying to say- ‘You said you know me. Prove it. Don’t be an idiot.’ Well I don’t know if God would say the idiot part, but he definitely would have reason to.

I recently read Max Lucado’s book- Fearless. A lot of that book could be applied to this entry. The root of distrust is fear. Lucado says, ‘Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. We begin to wonder if love lives in heaven… And it turns us into control freaks… Fear creates a form of spiritual amnesia. It dulls our miracle memory. It makes us forget what Jesus has done and how good God is.’ My confidence in God’s provision and love has been eclipsed by an irrational fear. It has distorted my memory of who God is and his purpose for my life.

J.I. Packer in his book- Knowing God talks about wisdom and how wisdom doesn’t mean we get to know why God does what he does. Wisdom doesn’t mean we get to know what happens next. Rather “God’s work of giving wisdom is… restoring and perfecting the relationship between himself and men… It is not a sharing of all his knowledge, but a disposition to confess that he is wise, and to cleave to him and live for him in the light of his word through thick and thin.”

Because I believe in God’s infinite and singular wisdom, the next logical step is to rest there. Trust there. Leave fear outside. Leave my own ‘control freak’ ideas outside. They are no longer needed.

Psalm 73:25 says, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee… God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”

Finally a short excerpt from Lucado’s book, a hymn written by Bradford Torrey:

Not so in haste, my heart!
Have faith in God, and wait;
Although He linger long,
He never comes too late.

He never comes too late;
He knoweth what is best;
Vex not thyself in vain;
Until He cometh rest.

Until He cometh, rest,
Nor grudge the hours that roll;
The feet that wait for God
Are soonest at the goal.

Are soonest at the goal
That is not gained with speed;
Then hold thee still, my heart,
For I shall wait His lead.

So yes, the Office boys have given noteworthy advice that can be applied to general life choices (taserball cough cough) and spiritual life perspectives. I think it appropriate, then, to make my 2013 New Year’s Resolution: I’m not going to be an idiot.