The Sound of Stupid
POSTURAL REFLEX FUN
Have you ever accidentally dropped a cat and been shocked to see it land on its feet?
That’s the postural reflex in action—a built-in system that enables cats to orient their bodies for a safe landing during an unexpected fall or sudden movement. The limbs extend, the claws unsheath, and the whole body stiffens. It is not aggression. It’s proprioception and survival instinct. The cat isn’t thinking; it’s reacting. Its nervous system is bracing for landing.
When I was 14 years old, I figured out a way to have fun with this reflex in cats.
My cousins and I would gather up three or four of the outside cats, who earned their keep by keeping the mouse population in check. We’d carry them into the basement, strip down to just our shorts, and kill the lights. Total darkness.
Each of us would take a cat, gently held around the waist, and start creeping through the black. Slow steps. Bare skin. And then—strike. We’d drag a cat across someone’s bare chest, back, or legs. The postural reflex kicked in instantly. The limbs would shoot out. The claws would dig into their skin. And the screams would cut through the darkness—only to be drowned out by the laughter.
Painful? Extremely. Hilarious? Absolutely.
Stupid? Without question.
The cries of pain combined with the laughter echoing from our basement…
that was The Sound of Stupid.
GETTING TO PROVERBS
Proverbs goes to great lengths to describe what stupid sounds like. But for the sake of time, we need to narrow it down. We’re not focusing on people who have no interest in what the Bible says—Proverbs has plenty to say to them. Today, we’re zeroing in on just a few of the sounds of stupid that still show up in us, even after years of following Jesus.
BURPING
Proverbs 15:2 says, “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.”
The imagery is intentionally disgusting. The fool doesn’t just say foolish things—they belch them out. Loud. Unfiltered. Uninvited. Their words are jarring and disruptive—self-centered and unaware.
Sometimes that’s us.
When we give our opinion too quickly.
When we talk more than we listen.
When our sarcasm has no love behind it.
When “just being real” is really just a jab—one last verbal punch.
Those are public belches. Gross-outs that make people stop listening to anything else we have to say.
But the wise? They know how to say things in a way people want to hear. They speak with patience, not pressure. They ask questions. They listen first. Their words carry humility, not ego. They bring clarity, not clutter. When the wise speak, it feels like an invitation, not a shove.
SELF-DECEPTION
Proverbs 14:8 says, “The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.”
Fools don’t just lie to others. They lie to themselves. And they believe it.
They talk like they know where they’re headed. They speak with confidence, certainty, even spiritual boldness. But it’s smoke. Their words are loud, their tone is sure—but their direction is a guess at best, a delusion at worst.
And sometimes that foolishness shows up behind a pulpit.
There is going to be a video illustration here.
The health and wealth gospel is a perfect example. It sounds spiritual. It sounds like faith. But underneath the polished promises and Instagram-ready blessings is something Proverbs warns us about: a voice so eager to speak, it forgets to listen.
Fools deceive themselves.
They twist God’s Word into a vending machine.
They mistake wishes for wisdom.
They offer blessings for payment, as if God needs a transaction to be generous.
They confuse boldness with presumption.
They declare outcomes God never guaranteed.
And they call it faith.
But it’s not faith.
It’s foolish speech—speech without reverence for the scripture, without humility, without wisdom.
The wise walk with clarity because they listen first. They ask hard questions. They let Scripture speak instead of making it say what they want.
The deception, in this context, isn’t just misleading others. It’s convincing yourself that your version of truth is reality—and then selling that version like it came straight from heaven.
VENTING
Proverbs 29:11 says, “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.”
Venting sounds noble. Healthy, even. As if you’re just processing your feelings verbally. But Proverbs isn’t buying it.
Venting—at least the way fools do it—isn’t about honesty. It’s about making sure everyone around you knows exactly how mad, frustrated, offended, or inconvenienced you are. It doesn’t bring peace. It doesn’t build relational bridges. It just blows the heat outward and hopes someone else absorbs it.
And sometimes that’s us.
We rant to a friend about someone else under the label of “just being honest.”
We share a prayer request to take a passive-aggressive swipe at someone else.
We use group texts to drop thinly veiled jabs instead of having a direct conversation.
We suddenly quit serving in a ministry without a word, but tell five other people how upset we’ve been for weeks.
We often refer to it as “processing,” but what we’re really doing is recruiting people to join our team. That’s not wisdom. That’s just noise.
The wise feel anger, disappointment, and tension. They don't bury it. According to Proverbs, they steward it. They pause before reacting. They pray before speaking. They ask themselves questions like, “Is this loving? Is this helpful? Is this the right time?”
The wise know not every feeling needs to be aired out in the moment. They think about how their words will land, not just how they’ll feel saying them.
They talk to the person, not about the person. They avoid broadcasting what should be handled in private. They speak when it builds up, not when it tears down.
Because wisdom isn’t silence.
It’s restraint with purpose.
Comedian Ron White said about being arrested for disorderly conduct, “I had the right to remain silent. But, I didn’t have the ability.”
That’s venting. It’s best left to toddlers and drunks—people who can’t be held legally or socially responsible for what comes out of their mouths.
Toddlers vent by throwing themselves on the floor at Target because the toy is the wrong color. Drunks vent by crying about an ex from 12 years ago while holding a slice of pizza like it’s a microphone. We expect it from them. We pat their back, take away the keys, and move on.
But grown, functional, healthy adults—with jobs, group texts, and Bible verses in our social media feeds? Yeah… we should probably have a better game plan than unloading our anger and frustration into the ears around us and calling it therapy.
THE SOUNDS OF WISDOM
The howls of pain combined with the laughter from dragging cats across the bare skin of cousins in a dark basement were the sound of stupidity. But to us, it seemed like a completely normal activity.
That’s the thing about foolishness. It often just looks... normal.
Proverbs doesn’t let us off the hook. It names the sounds of stupidity. It holds up a mirror.
Foolishness is loud, but wisdom listens. Foolishness assumes. Wisdom asks. Foolishness vents. Wisdom pauses. Foolishness sells certainty. Wisdom walks in humility.
Let’s be the ones who choose restraint over reaction.
The world has plenty of noise. What it’s starving for… is the sounds of wisdom.
©2025 Greg McNichols, All rights reserved.
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