Stuck on Stupid
October 1, 2024
Have you ever been stuck on stupid?
As I continue to develop self-awareness, not only have I realized that I am slow on the uptake, but certain understandings of words restricted my understanding of various concepts — those of the Bible, I have discovered, having the utmost significance.
I have been stuck on stupid in many ways — generally speaking or in specific ways… Life is for learning, and learning requires a certain flexibility, doesn’t it?
It’s necessary that I emphasize this: After turning to Jesus to forgive me and thereby becoming a Born Again Believer, my self-awareness was no longer tedious and guilt ridden and distorting.
That is to say, my introspection was no longer a self-condemning process. Those chains were gone. They have been broken. Jesus has set me free from that ugliness.
I hope this little ditty will help get you unstuck, that is, if you ever have been stuck on any similar words or ideas, as I have.
Here’s an example of a word in the Bible that I had had a preconceived idea about that was incorrect in the context it was being used: “called.”
I thought it had the connotation of “chosen” in the sense of being superior and predestined.
Well, I was wrong. Very wrong.
Here is one excerpt where the word is “more correctly” translated for me, Matthew 22:11–14, New International Version:
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
Then the king told attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
This translation got me thinking…
(Note: This excerpt is from Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Banquet which starts at the beginning of Matthew 22, and it should be read for context. Jesus was teaching through this Parable what is relevant to eternal life and our eternal destination.)
Aside from the Promise in relation to the consequences of a person’s unpreparedness, beforehand I had developed my understanding from antiquated language in the King James Version. I had missed the mark… The bull’s eye is centered in the phrasing, “For many are invited…”. The Amplified Bible also has the same phrasing which catches the idea from the original Greek texts: “For many are called (invited, summoned)…” So, the newer version, the NIV, which I quoted in bold italics above, was more understandable for me.
As I understand it now, it is like what we used to do, using our phones, calling someone over to play horseshoes or whatever.
How did I miss it when other teachings by Jesus had expressed the idea so clearly. In the Gospel of Jesus, that invitation is obvious. For example, Jesus promised, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28. He has sent out the invitation.
All and all, people are not chosen in the sense of their superiority. But we are invited over, not unlike grandparents inviting their grandchildren to stay overnight… because we love them… want them to be with us… because we enjoy them so …
Still and all, the overriding fact is that this Gospel invite confronts us with several choices.
- We can ignore the invitation.
- We can RSVP.
- We can excuse ourselves, having other priorities.
- We can choose to accept, but change our minds later.
- We can attend, but without showing proper respect.
These choices are presented in a very different way with another parable of Jesus’ teachings, the Parable of the Farmer Sowing Seed in Matthew 18. Here is Jesus explaining the parable to His Disciples:
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” — Matthew 13:18–23, NIV.
Now I get it. Being “called” doesn’t make anyone special in a superior egotistical way. Rather it means that we are invited to be a part of the family of God, to attend the Feast prepared for the King’s Son…
Just the same, God has given us those choices I mentioned above..
- I hope you respond favorably to the invitation.
- I hope you will make God, Jesus, and the Bible your priority.
- I hope you will “keep a steady hand on the tiller,” as sailors might say.
- I hope you will attend the Gathering, as understood by the Irish and the Scottish folk, with the right preparations.
- I hope you can learn from the proper connotations of the words of the Bible.
- I hope you never get stuck on stupid like I often do.
I accepted Jesus’ invitation over 50 years ago. I hope that soon you will, too.