You cant fix stupid

Ron White (fellow Texan) and stand up comic made the phrase famous. "You can't fix stupid." Stupidity is a lack of intelligence which stems from the inability or unwillingness to learn. However, we should be careful not to equate stupidity with ignorance.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and everyone is ignorant about something and in the case of old football coaches that chasm is wide and deep.  I am ignorant of quantum physics, spread offenses and the female mind and that barely scratches the surface of my ignorance.

What is important is that we not conflate ignorance and stupidity.  God has not apportioned us with equal amounts of intelligence.  The fact of the matter is that no amount of “education” will move the needle much when it comes to intelligence. Being educated is not the same as being smart or wise. Mark Twain once wrote, “I was educated once and it took me years to get over it.” 

You can go to college an idiot and graduate a moron with a piece of paper.  The problems start when unintelligent people believe they are smart simply because they have been educated. 

“It is usually futile to start talking facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance.” Thomas Sowell

As a football coach, my players call their own plays on both sides of the ball because I desire for them to be “football smart”.  That is to say that I desire for them to seek wisdom which comes from playing the game (not from a coach calling the plays). I want them to be avid learners in all that they do in life and use their God given intelligence to help themselves and others to the best of their ability.

God calls us to seek wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 4:7). All wisdom comes from a relationship with the Lord. A reverent relationship with God is foundational to acquiring true wisdom and understanding.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Jesus reminds us that to seek the Kingdom of Heaven we are to approach it as a child.  He emphasizes the importance of approaching God with the qualities and characteristics often found in children: humility, trust, openness, and a sense of wonder. Note that intelligence is not needed.

My counsel to all the players that I coach is to not put education on a pedestal. Instead, they should not let their education get in the way of the pursuit of biblical wisdom.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and everything else will be added.