Low intelligence/Being dumb

[wolly]

I tried finding a bible verse about being mentally reduced(dumb) but all I could find is this:

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Proverbs 30:2
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
Psalm 94:8
Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Psalm 92:6
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
Job 18:3
Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?
Job 11:12
But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.
Proverbs 15:21
Folly brings joy to one who has no sense,
but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.




What is the role of stupidity in the Bible? How does stupidity help you?
Isn't intelligence more important than stupidity?
I mean if you're dumb and you feel that your intelligence is low how can you get smarter? Just by praying?

[Heleadethme]

Many, many people have learning disabilities.  (It is far more common than most might think.)  They may have certain disadvantages as far as life in this world goes, like more limited choices for employment, etc, but it doesn't mean God loves or values them any less than people who happen to have more intellectual ability.  Everyone has problems of one kind or another....we all have crosses to bear in this life, and for some that cross means not being an Einstein.    And someone could even have an ability or talent in some other way that they don't even know they have.

All of God's wonderful promises that are ours in Christ don't depend one tiny bit on how smart or not so smart anyone is.  What is far more important than a high IQ in God's sight is wisdom....because wisdom comes from Him.  The good news is that we can ask Him for it.....He promises to give it to those who ask.  So if anyone is having trouble figuring out what to do in any situation, we can ask God to help, ask Him what to do.  And if we're having trouble understanding anything in the bible, we can ask Him to help us with that too.

I hope you will find this encouraging dear friend:

1Co 1:25-31

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

That no flesh should glory in his presence.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

 

 

[Not me]

4 hours ago, wolly said:

I tried finding a bible verse about being mentally reduced(dumb) but all I could find is this:

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Proverbs 30:2
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
Psalm 94:8
Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Psalm 92:6
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
Job 18:3
Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?
Job 11:12
But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.
Proverbs 15:21
Folly brings joy to one who has no sense,
but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.




What is the role of stupidity in the Bible? How does stupidity help you?
Isn't intelligence more important than stupidity?
I mean if you're dumb and you feel that your intelligence is low how can you get smarter? Just by praying?

Hi, I guess that would depend on what standard of measurement one might use… For scripture says they were amazed because they knew they were unlearned men…

Acts 4:13 (NASB20)
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Having and spending time with Jesus personally and intimately, makes all the difference….  Or even, as one might see themselves, for knowing Christ is the all of wisdom, knowing that wisdom is but the proper use of knowledge…

For wherever one lands on the amount of knowledge one knows, it means nothing as compared to the wisdom that comes through a personal intimate relationship with Christ….

Be blessed in that relationship that does bring true wisdom… 

 

A fellow believer, Not me 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Not me

[Sower]

6 hours ago, wolly said:

I mean if you're dumb and you feel that your intelligence is low how can you get smarter? Just by praying?

God's ways are not man's ways. He has a special purpose for each of His children.

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,
they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus"    Acts 4,13

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. so that no one may boast before him"         1 Corinthians 1:   26-29
 

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

[appy]

The bible NEVER calls or describes a person who is intellectually disabled a fool; but uses the word foolishness, to describe someone who knows without question that an action is wrong but makes the decision to do it anyway. Or the knowing of what is right, but failing to do it. Not because he or she is intellectually challenged, but because the individual is indifferent to the situation.

Neither one is helpful, for both are ways in which we human's sin. Its the not caring of how God regards the situation. In this sense, a person lacks wisdom and common sense. Because he or she knows what is right, but fails to do it, or knows something is wrong but does it anyway whether it is right, wrong or indifferent.

People in general speaking, like to think of themselves as being above average in intelligence, because they think it makes them look good in the eyes of others, gives them an advantage over others, or to make themselves feel good about themselves.

In summary, wisdom or being intelligent is not about being recognized as having a high IQ, but about our hearts and attitude towards sin, and what God thinks about it. There is no point in knowing what is right if you don't do it. Doing what you know is right and avoiding what you know is wrong is true wisdom and using common sense.

[Deborah_]

10 hours ago, wolly said:

What is the role of stupidity in the Bible? How does stupidity help you?

As Appy has said, "foolishness" in the Bible is not low intelligence; rather, it's the opposite of wisdom. And wisdom can be found in unexpected places - there's the story of Balaam's donkey (Numbers 22:21-35), in which a "dumb" donkey proves to be wiser than an internationally renowned prophet!

10 hours ago, wolly said:

Isn't intelligence more important than stupidity?

This is true on the world's scale of values. But God sees things very differently. The passage that you quoted first, from I Corinthians, makes the point that God usually prefers to work with people who are less clever and less educated than the average. Most of the believers in the early church were not well educated; the majority were "working class". The apostle Paul (who had the equivalent of a university degree) was very exceptional!

10 hours ago, wolly said:

I mean if you're dumb and you feel that your intelligence is low how can you get smarter? Just by praying?

Your IQ is determined by your genes and you can't change it. You can, however, make the most of what you've got - through education and through exercising your brain. 

What about praying, though? God can change your IQ (just as He can change anything else about you) - but the fact is that He normally demonstrates His glory and power not by changing the way in which we are made, but by enabling us to achieve unexpectedly great things with His help.  So by all means pray for greater intelligence - but don't be disappointed if God says "No"!

Praying for wisdom, though, is a different matter. The Bible encourages us to pray for wisdom! God loves to give us wisdom... but it's not the same thing as intelligence.

About 20 years ago I was sponsoring a little girl in Africa and we were writing letters to each other. She wasn't very bright (she had to repeat a school year more than once), and I think she felt ashamed that she wasn't (in a sense) giving us "value for money" for our sponsorship. And she wrote to us saying that she prayed to God every day asking Him to make her more clever... I wrote back and said to her that God doesn't make everyone clever, just as He doesn't make everyone tall, or beautiful. But He does want us all to be kind and loving and hard-working, whether we're clever (or attractive) or not.

In other words, it's more important to work on developing and improving your character than to focus on your IQ.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Deborah_

[Who me]

14 hours ago, wolly said:

How does stupidity help you?
Isn't intelligence more important than stupidity?
I mean if you're dumb and you feel that your intelligence is low how can you get smarter? Just by praying?

 

As you can seefrom the verses quoted by others above, God is not impressed by peoples intellect.

Just as Gods morality turns mans view of right and wrong upside down, so his view of intellect is revolutionary.

The psamlist write, " The FOOL has said there is no God. "

How many people regarded as highly intelligent and called by them selves as ' brights ' are atheists and in Gods sight are FOOLs.

 

Yes the world might deride you because you have little formal education, you may not earn big bucks, remember this life is not all there is and if you are intelligent enough to know you need a saviour then you are far cleverer than those God calls Fools.

[Sower]

9 hours ago, Deborah_ said:

Your IQ is determined by your genes and you can't change it. You can, however, make the most of what you've got - through education and through exercising your brain. 

Use what you have been blessed with, two hands and feet, eyes and ears, a brain and God's spirit to guide you.
Focus on what you have and not on what you don't.
I watched video of a young boy on a street in a busy 3rd world country, squatting behind his little foot driven  hand made small wood lathe,  turning pieces of scrap wood into beautiful chess pieces that I could not replicate on my expensive lathe.

I've once was on a construction job site eating tacos with a fellow contractor checking his job who told me how years as a young man from Mexicob he migrated up through Texas and would make a little money cleaning the homes after they were built.
All he knew about how to work, cleaning, with no trade.
He did his work so well all the home builders used him so he bought an old van and slept in it, hired an other worker.
Later he bought a small house in the barrio for his crews and hired more men and bought more vans.
At the time we were talking he had a fleet of vans and trucks and equipment and owned many homes all rented out.
He was basically ignorant of any trade or business experience. But he used the little he knew, cleaning and hard work.
He had enthusiasm and he was smart where it counted!  He did what God enabled him to do. Successfully.
He became a business man!
 

[Waggles]

On 2/5/2022 at 9:47 AM, wolly said:

Proverbs 30:2
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.

The scriptures you have posted with references to wisdom and foolishness (or being stupid) are not about natural intellect but rather about spiritual insight and spiritual knowledge. People can be highly intelligent and much learned in academic subjects but are considered foolish by God because they rely on their personal intellect and human knowledge to deny the truth of God.

A fool brings harm upon themself.

Generally speaking the more intelligent a mind is the more foolish they are being full of pride. And pride is the big killer for many.

1Cor 2:13  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 
2:14  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 
2:15  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Waggles

[Waggles]

1Corinthians 1:18  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 
19  For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 
20  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 
21  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 
22  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 
23  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 
24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 
25  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 
26  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 
27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 
28  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 
29  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 
30  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 
31  so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  [ESV]