The Dumbest Thing I Ever Did

A thread on reddit asks the What is the Dumbest Thing You’ve Ever Done? The responses are entertaining. They also make you cringe. Here is one response:

You know those old cigarette lighters in cars? Nobody in my immediate family smokes, and when I was younger, I pressed it in and it popped out. I pulled it out to inspect – it was just grey coils – it didn’t look red hot or anything. So I tested that sucker the best way I knew how. I stuck it to my tongue.

That reminded me of the time I did the same stupid thing, except I only tested it on my finger, not my tongue. Yep, it was hot!

There are many other stupid things I have done, but one stands out. A number of years ago our youth ministry team did a little skit for our youth group. It had something to do with a heavy metal band, so someone brought some props, including handcuffs. After the youth group I slapped one of the handcuffs onto my left wrist. Why? Sheer stupidity. Only after it was secure on my wrist did I think about how to undo the handcuff. “Hey Terry, where is the key to this?” I asked.

“Oh,” Terry said. “I think that’s the one that I don’t have a key for.”

“Come on Terry. Where is the key?” I said.

“Really,” Terry said. “I don’t have a key.” Then my stupidity hit me. How long was I going to be stuck with handcuffs dangling from my left wrist? Could I cut it off with a hacksaw at home? When the whole youth group became aware of my stupidity, one of the teenagers came to take a look. For some reason he knew how to pick locks. He asked for a paper clip. I got one from my office and within seconds I was released from my stupidity.

We have all done stupid things. According to Jesus, the dumbest thing a person could ever do is listen to his teachings, but not practice them.

I did another thing on Sunday when I was preaching on this very topic; I printed my sermon notes double-sided. I decided that it didn’t matter. I was wrong. I got myself and the man running the sermon slides both confused. I probably got the congregation confused as I jumped around. As a pastor-teacher I have a responsibility to make things as clear as possible. So I am writing to set things straight.

The passage is Matthew 7:24-29, where Jesus says that the person who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds their house on the rock. As the son of a carpenter, Jesus knew something about building houses. But how to build was so obvious that Jesus could use it as an example of stupidity. It’s like slapping handcuffs on your own wrist, or testing how hot something is by touching it to your tongue. The person who hears Jesus’ teachings and does not practice them is such a fool. A house build on sand will not stand up to the storm.

Every expert gives both positive instruction and negative warnings. Doctor, personal trainer, mountaineering guide, flight instructor – all of them will tell you what to do and what NOT to do. The one who ignores their warnings is stupid. The consequences are disastrous. Jesus the master teacher also gives positive instructions and negative warnings. But he goes farther than any other. He says the consequences are eternal. The fall of the house built on sand is a picture of final, total disaster.

The famous Sermon on the Mount ends with three warnings. The first is a warning not to enter the wide gate that leads to destruction, but the narrow gate that leads to life. Jesus then warns that some will say to him “Lord, Lord,” but he will tell them, “I never knew you. Away from me.” In the context he is talking about false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing. (If you think about some of the awful things done in the name of God you will agree that these wolves in disguise must be called to account in the end). The last warning is the one about putting his teachings into practice.

These warnings lead to the question, who does Jesus think he is? Who is he that his teachings are so important? Who is he to determine a person’s eternal fate? C.S. Lewis, among others, has said there are only three possible responses to Jesus: he is either Lord, liar, or lunatic. The one response that does not work is to say that Jesus was a “great moral teacher.” A great moral teacher would not make such claims about himself and his teachings. A great moral teacher, even a prophet, would not put himself in the place of judge. God alone is judge. But Jesus did make these claims, so he is either crazy, or an evil liar, or he is in fact Lord and God. If Jesus is God in human flesh, then his teachings would be as important as he said. If he is not God in human flesh, he is no great moral teacher.

There is one more option, however, that allows people to say that Jesus was a great moral teacher without accepting him as Lord. Maybe Jesus wasn’t a liar or a lunatic, and maybe he never claimed to be Lord. Maybe all of that was a later invention. Maybe Jesus taught good moral teachings and years later people added things about him being Lord.

Let’s stop to consider this with a bit of logic. If people were going to make up things about Jesus being Lord and God, why would they combine it with him being crucified? And why would fiercely monotheistic Jews claim that a man was also God? This doesn’t really make sense.

Wasn’t the Bible changed over time, and these things were just gradually added? The problem with that is there are no earlier times when people were not saying that Jesus is Lord. They believed Jesus was Lord from the beginning. We have very early writings that show this. And we have many, many copies of the New Testament documents, showing that the New Testament was not changed substantially over time. It was instead carefully preserved. I have large books on my shelves that go into these questions in great detail.

The use of logic and historical evidence have helped many people come to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. But there are deeper things going on in the human heart. Jesus’ warning about the house built on rock or sand points to an inner moral struggle that we all experience. We recognize that Jesus’ teachings are good and true. Is it better not to murder? Of course. Is it even better to deal with our anger and seek reconciliation? Yes. Even thieves know that stealing is wrong. If someone steals from them they are outraged. Is it good and right to love our neighbor as ourselves? We certainly want people to love us. Everyone recognizes the truth of Jesus’ teachings. But not everyone practices them. That is what Jesus warns us about. We hear the teachings of Jesus but we do not do them.

There are many non-Christians who would like to have the teachings of Jesus without the Lordship of Jesus. That makes humanism. There are also many Christians who would like to have the Lordship of Jesus without the teachings of Jesus. That makes for shallow Christianity, cheap faith. You cannot have the teachings without the teacher, the king without the kingdom. If Jesus’ teachings are good, then he is Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then his teachings are good and we must put them into practice.

What if we try to practice the teachings of Jesus but fail? Our failures drive us back to the first words of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Lord whose teachings come with the demand of obedience is the same Lord who blesses those who have nothing. But many people who call Jesus Lord don’t even try to follow his teachings. Jesus warns us, that is the stupidest thing you can possibly do. If we call Jesus Lord, then we must put his teachings into practice. His end goal is to make us worthy of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ teachings show us how to live a life of love, which is the nature of God. Building a life on this foundation is the smartest thing you could ever do.