Duh!

I am just old enough that I missed the whole “Jackass” phenomena on MTV.  The basic idea was that Johnny Knoxville and a side kick would do silly, stupid, dangerous stunts. The audience, seeing what was coming and sure it was a dumb idea, would laugh when it (predictably) did not turn out well. Laughing at someone’s pain is not my favorite sort of humor.

However, yesterday I read an article in The New York Times Magazine about Johnny Knoxville that made me howl.  In the article Knoxville tells the reporter that before his second marriage he decided to get some therapy.  Going on, he said,

"It was funny… one day we’re sitting there, talking, and she brought up this concept that was, like: ‘Really? That’s brilliant.’ It was such an epiphany. That changes everything. And the concept was: Thought before action. And you would think something so basic would not escape you, but I’d never even considered it.” At this point, Knoxville let loose the longest, loudest laugh I’d heard from him. “That’s how far removed I was,” he said.

Okay, that’s funny.  He set up that punch line with a life time of making audiences groan, ”Oh I wouldn’t do that. That’s not going to be good….” Apparently, we weren’t watching someone really brave or tough, just someone who was completely thoughtless! Not that we didn't know... exactly...

As I think about it, I have to acknowledge Knoxville is hardly alone. We all do things we haven’t thought through. Sometimes its not so funny.  Occasionally, it’s not funny at all.

It is also true, that we cannot foresee all the consequences of our actions.  That’s why motive, why we do things, is an important consideration in evaluating guilt.  It is also why we must live by faith; by which I mean, this is why we must trust that God has grace for us when we ungracefully fail.