Some people believe that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Maybe you’ve had a school teacher nice enough to try to convince you of this!
I think the claim is true… well, at least most of the time! However, I once had a teacher who was actually honest enough to point out that there is at least one type of dumb question – the kind that is designed to show off to everyone else just how smart you think you are.
The problem lurking behind this kind of question is of course pride and boasting, and more often than not it has to do with how much we think we know.
Growing up in a culture that prides itself on how much we know, you are likely to find yourself in many situations where you could be tempted to boast and show off your knowledge.
At youth group, for example, are you tempted to show off how much you know about the Bible? In small group Bible studies do you ask questions that show off your knowledge but are of absolutely no benefit to the rest of the group?
Rather than pointing out our wisdom, these questions and others like them only serve to point out just how little we actually know. Check out 1 Corinthians for more on this…
Of course, there is a time and place for questions that are searching, deep and profound, but these need to be approached with the right attitude of love and humility, at the right time, and in the right context. As for questions that are really just disguised attempts to show off, well, there is really only one word to describe those…