There are different types of stupid.
Now that I have your attention, let me tell you what I mean so you don’t think this is about putting people on blast.
By definition, stupid means to have or show a great lack of intelligence or common sense; showing poor judgment or little intelligence. I want to focus on some words in this that are important to the rest of the article: show/showing and lack of. These have a common characteristic - they can be temporary. Since temporary is not forever, neither is stupid.
Let me show you.
Who remembers Peter? You know, the fisherman. Spent several years side-by-side with Jesus? Yeah, him. What do we remember about him from the gospels? He was, well, for the sake of the definition, (spiritually) stupid on a number of occasions.
There are a number of moments Peter would probably like to have back. Matthew 16:21 tells us that “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Peter didn’t like that. Matter of fact, the next verse said he began to scold Jesus. You think Jesus thanked Him? “Boy, Peter, I’m sure glad you stepped in a showed me the error of my ways“ was not recorded in scripture. What is said by Jesus, however, is, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)
Ouch. Not one of Peter’s best moments, huh? Then there’s Matthew 14:28-31. And Luke 5:4-5. And John 13:8-10. And John 18:10-11. And John 18:25-27 (or Mark 14:66-72). Let’s also remember when Paul had to have a face-to-face with Peter (Galatians 2:11-14). He’s not necessarily a top candidate if you were picking the best of the best to follow you. That’s not what Jesus was, or is, doing.
Jesus chose Peter, purposely. Jesus knew the faults he made and would make. Peter didn’t change Peter. Jesus changed Peter. Peter went from a dog breaking off his chain, ready to fight the wind, to a man who has been given the grace of Jesus, sharing his love and care with the church. That’s the gospel and Christ at work. It’s the same work Jesus does in us.
If my life was defined by my moments of stupidity, there’d be a museum to commemorate them, like the Farmers Insurance commercials. Jesus knew me, too, before I ever said yes to Him. Same for you. Same for the people we have yet to have a conversation with about Jesus.
We may say something stupid or just feel we sound stupid when we share Jesus. Then I have to remember, and I want you to remember, that it is Jesus doing the work. He started the work at the beginning time, then made Himself known and carried our sin with Him upon the cross. There is nothing stupid about sharing that.
Note: I kept using the word stupid in this so you would associate it back to its meaning. It is such a negative word when used to characterize someone, so I hope you don’t use it or stop using it if you have been. And, praise God there is no sin or suffering in heaven, cause one day when I get there I don’t want Peter coming up to me, with his crew, yelling at me “Hey! What’s the deal! Why’d you call me stupid! You’re stupid!” Then we have a good ole rumble, like in Weird Al’s video for ‘Eat It’. YouTube that if necessary.