Dumb and Dumber
Bible Reading: Proverbs 13:14-20
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20, NIV
JIM CARREY AND Jeff Daniels starred in the popular movie comedy Dumb and Dumber. Jim Carrey’s character was, indeed, dumb. And the guy Jeff Daniels played was even dumber.
A lot of movies and television shows feature partnerships in which one—or both—of the characters acts stupid or foolish. See if you can match each character in the first list below with his or her TV or movie companion on the right.
| Wayne | Harry |
| Bill | Bart |
| Jafar | Iago |
| Shenzi | Flit |
| Lisa | Garth |
| Lloyd | Ted |
| Meeko | Ed |
How’d you do? You probably knew that Wayne and Garth were the characters in the Wayne’s World movies, and that Bart and Lisa, of TV’s The Simpsons, are brother and sister. Bill and Ted were characters played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. Meeko and Flit were the raccoon and hummingbird in Pocahontas, and Shenzi and Ed were two of the hyenas in The Lion King. Jafar was the bad guy in Aladdin and Iago was his (literally) flighty companion. And, Lloyd and Harry were Dumb and Dumber, respectively.
You may not have a friend like Harry in Dumb and Dumber or Garth in Wayne’s World (let’s hope not!). But even if your friends are smart and cool and fun, they can still get you into trouble.
The Bible says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20, NIV). In other words, it’s not just important that you make right choices; it’s important to have friends who make right choices, too. A big part of being wise is choosing your companions wisely.
REFLECT: Are there any “companions” in the list above that you would like to hang around with? Any you would try to avoid? Do you have friends who influence you to make right choices? Any who influence you to make wrong choices? (Be honest about both!) Have you ever asked God to help you form strong, lasting friendships with wise companions? If not, why not do so now? Then be alert this week to the ways your friends influence you … and to ways you influence your friends.
PRAY: “Lord, I want to be a good influence on my friends, and I want my friends to be good influences on me. Help me to choose my friends wisely.”