My sister, who lived with us for many years, moved to California to be close to her children. We have been forwarding her mail as we wait for others to get her new address. Last week we forwarded to her a letter from Dreyfus. When she received and opened it, the letter inside was an acknowledgment that they had her new address. After I got over the “duh” moment I realized the logic. They were checking to make sure someone had not, for fraudulent reasons, changed her address without her knowing.
So many times in life we jump to conclusions about the stupidity of what someone has done. Usually it is because we don’t know the logic behind the action. Because we have limited knowledge about what led up to a behavior we, thinking we are so intelligent, conclude the other person was stupid. Only when we learn all the factors involved do we understand what the person did was the right thing to do.
When Jesus found his disciples on shore after a night of fishless fishing and he told them to cast their net over the side of the boat, I’m sure some of them must have thought, “That’s stupid. We fished all night and got nothing.” Peter actually objected but finally did what he was told. The Bible says, “When they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them.”
Even when we don’t understand what God asks us to do, the smart thing would be to do it. He would never ask us to do something stupid. We just don’t understand all that is involved.
Written by Roger Bothwell on November 22, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org