Life's Hard Enough. Don't Be Stupid.

Doesn't matter who said it, there's truth there.

The above little gem of wisdom has long been attributed to the straight-shooting, no-bull Duke. Unfortunately, no one can find a documented instance of him saying those particular words. For our purposes, though, it doesn't matter who first came up with that catchy, easy to remember one-liner.

What matters is that it's true. Life is hard. And yes, it's harder when you do stupid things.

Don't be stupid!

That's the lesson here, and it's simple enough. Just to be clear, by stupid I don't mean unintelligent or mentally challenged. I mean foolish, careless, and senseless. We can't change our intelligence, but we can certainly change how we use it.

We get to choose whether to be stupid or not, as we are using the word today. Every decision we make gets ran though our stupid filter, or at least it should. For example, when faced with flashing red lights in our rear view mirror, we have the choice of pulling over (smart choice), or trying to outrun the police (stupid).  Or when faced with the question, "Does this outfit make me look fat?" . . . well, you get the point.

Getting a ticket is hard. Going to jail is harder. Correctly answering, "Does this make me look fat?" isn't always easy, but a foolish answer will likely make your life more difficult in more ways than one!

Think before you act.

The picture I used today warns of a dangerous cliff edge. What should you do--see how close you can get before you fall off, or keep a little distance? Is the view worth the danger?

Sin is like that cliff. Most of the time, we know what sin is. A lot of sin even comes with warning labels, like the Danger sign above. If a website has the warning of graphic nudity, you probably shouldn't go there. When your friends tell you that person who's been flirting with you is going to be at a party, don't leave your spouse at home and go.

When the flashing red lights appear, stop! The farther you go, the deeper you get, and the worse the consequences. We know this; sometimes we simply shut off our stupid filters.

Not a good idea.

Life is hard. 

That's an inescapable truth that goes way back to a stupid decision made in a once perfect world, and our topic for the week.

Our first lesson is this: Adding more stupidity to the equation won't make things any easier.

Life is hard. It's even harder if you're stupid.

Well said. Whoever said it.