Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Biblical Wisdom About Human Nature (as translated by Forrest Gump)

Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah:  “Turn from all your evil ways.  Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”  But the Israelites would not listen.  They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God.  They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings.  They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves.  They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.  2 Kings 17:13-15(NLT)
In the film Forrest Gump[2] the main character (played by Tom Hanks) tells the story of his life to several folk sitting on a bench, all waiting for their bus.  It is obvious from his speech patterns and the unfolding story, that Forest is naïve, bordering on the challenge of mental retardation.  As a young boy he is teased mercilessly, and struggles with being called “stupid” by ignorant people through his entire life.  A recurring response is what Forrest’s mother gave him to say:  stupid is as stupid does.
Forrest’s mom must have read the Bible.  God sent prophets to warn Israel and Judah to keep themselves soft and pliable in the hands of their God; they wouldn’t listen.  They fell into the same dumb trap as their stubborn ancestors, rejecting holy living as a lifestyle, worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.  Instead they began worshipping idols, trying to fit-in with their neighbors.  Such is the nature of human beings; whatever we worship, we become.  Idols are worthless, and when we place our faith in such, we become as such, worthless.  Stupid is as stupid does!
This astute Biblical wisdom about human nature imparted to Forrest by his mother (played by Sally Fields in the movie) is a post-graduate course about Godly-wisdom in a single sentence.  
We humans hold axioms that elevate us far above our pay grade.  One of those axioms is that we know what is best for us.  Only living proves otherwise.  And it always proves otherwise!  What turns everything on its head is when someone like Forrest, seen and judged to be simple by the rest of us, shows us how simply ignorant we can be.  Forrest’s whole life is all about doing the good and kind, or right thing…the unselfish and loving thing for others.  This is the definition of God’s kind of love.
Fallen human nature is not that wise.  And therein is the coming of all the pain we experience in a culture such as ours in the 21st century.  Killing, stealing, over-sexed, and covered with cold harshness, we, like the Emperor with no clothes, imagine ourselves to be an advanced civilization.  We are coming unglued as a species…and all the time, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, we congratulate ourselves for everything going in the right direction. 
I can imagine Forrest’s mom asking the question:  How’s that going for ya?

For You Today

It is decidedly counter-cultural to reject the cultural nonsense that stands for wisdom in our day…just ask Forrest Gump.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of:  goo.gl/images (non-commercial use only)
[2] ©1994 Paramount Pictures, starring Tom Hanks (see more)

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