Wisdom, Forrest Gump Style

This week I’m blogging, and our “guest” is good ol’ Forrest Gump.

Gather ’round, and we’ll see what our adventurer friend has to share.

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Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding and must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
Psalm 32:9

My husband can imitate Forrest Gump to a T, so when he came in with the latest Gump joke (origin unknown), I knew I had to share it. Goes something like this …

Forrest Gump died and went to heaven.

St. Peter met him at the Pearly Gate.

“Heaven’s getting a bit crowded, Forrest, so we’ve decided to give a test before letting folks in.”

“Hope it’s not too hard.”

“Oh, you’ll do all right,” St. Peter replied. “What two days in the week start with the letter T?”

“Today and tomorrow.”

“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but I guess it’ll do. Try this one: How many seconds are in a year?”

“Twelve.”

St. Peter frowns. “Twelve? How’d you get twelve?”

“Well, there’s January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd …”

St. Peter scratches his head. “You’ve got a point there. I guess I’ll accept it. Does God have a first name?”

“Yes. First name’s Andy.”

“Where in the world did Andy come from?”

“Well, my mama and I used to sing a song in church. Went somethin’ like this: ‘Andy walks with me. Andy talks with me …'”

Forrest, the Philosopher

Renowned English philosopher, William Ockam, is known for coming up with a problem-solving principle (Ockam’s Razor) that has withstood the test of time: The simplest answer is generally the best answer.

So were Forrest’s simple-as-can-be responses that far off?

Might the questioner have asked more specific questions?

Unfortunately, life often asks complicated questions, but Forrest Gump was able to use Ockam’s Razor to pare down even the most intricate issues to simple truth.

Most of us would have considered both the simple and more complex possibilities before answering St. Peter’s questions. But not Forrest. Occam adherent to a very simple T, Forrest was too literal for weighing more than one possibility against another.

In the grand scheme of things, is that so bad?

To some, Forrest is a goofball (or the mule King David describes). But to others, like myself, Forrest Life Wisdom 101 is spot on: (Tweet That!)

(1) Life’s a marathon. Just run.

(2) Life’s a box of chocolates. Enjoy what you get.

(3) Life’s all about love. So love.
(4) Life has a guide book. Read it.

(5) Life’s hard. Deal with it.

P.S. King David, the Psalmist, penned a verse 8 before the verse 9 above:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

But the psalmist didn’t stop there. He added a verse 10:

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.

The hero of our story trusted his closest advisor—Mama—who pointed him to hers: God. Mama’s love never failed Forrest–from a simple park bench at home to the jungles of Viet Nam and along roads, streets, and highways all over the country.

But God has Mama beat, hands down. Check it out.