One interesting part of being a Pappy is that you may forget some of the “bad” words parents teach their children not to say. A couple of times I have used the word “stupid” in front of my granddaughters, and they have been scandalized! “Pappy, that’s a bad word!” So Pappy has to say he’s sorry, and promise not to say it again.
The word “stupid” is certainly an ugly word, and we generally are right to avoid it’s use. It is also an appropriate word to use from time to time. One such time is in describing a man who hates to be corrected.
“Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1).
The Hebrew word that is translated stupid in the NKJV is ba’ar. It is translated “brutish” in older translations as a nod to its etymology. You have heard the insult “dumb cow” or “dumb as a cow”? Cattle are not known to be particularly smart animals. The Hebrew word is taken from a root which means to consume or eat cattle. If you are brutish, you are like a cow. In a word, stupid!
God’s people appreciate both His word, and those who are willing to reprove and rebuke in accord with that word. A person who is unwilling to take such correction is actually acting in a self-destructive manner. He is being stupid! It is not always comfortable or enjoyable to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable, but it is smart to listen.
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