“Stupid doesn’t fix stupid” (pardon my French )….but I thought to
share with you the profound advice I gave to my 14 year old son this past week. He filled me in on a dispute he had with a difficult classmate, and after hearing the details of the situation, I agreed that he had every right to be angry. I understood why he responded the way he did- but just because I understood the response didn’t make the response right.
Proverbs 15:1 states “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.”
In other words, you can’t put out a fire with fire…it doesn’t work at 14 and it doesn’t work at 40 (something).
I reminded my son about the story of Joseph. His brothers didn’t like his coat or his dreams so at the age of 17, they threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery. He had so many reasons to be angry and respond to the world around him with vengeance. But in Genesis 39:9, when he was tempted, he made it clear that a sin against man would be a sin against God.
Max Lucado expounds:
“The lesson we learn from Joseph is surprisingly simple: do what pleases God. …You don’t fix a struggling marriage with an affair, a drug problem with more drugs, debt with more debt. You don’t fix
stupid with stupid. You don’t get out of a mess by making another one. Do what pleases God. You will never go wrong doing what is right.”
You may be in a situation right now where someone has deeply hurt you and you would be justified to speak your mind. And although telling your offender their breath and basketball skills stink may make you feel better (especially if you’re 14)… two wrongs have never and will never make a right. “Stupid won’t fix stupid. Do what pleases God. You will never go wrong doing what is right.”
~Binu
