God Opposes the Proud

God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble. If you are a child of God, and you do not humble yourself, God will do it for you.
And I do not mean “humble yourself before God”-we all are humbled before God. I mean humble yourself before man, also.
Pride goes before a fall-does it ever! And please-realize as I write this that I struggle with Pride as much as anyone. So I need the medicine God prescribes for all swelled heads and super-sized egos. And I get a dose more often than you might think.
I got an e-mail today from Creation Science Evangelism, the Kent Hovind ministry. Hovind’s son Eric wrote the e-mail, from which I learned that Kent and his wife have been found guilty of a multitude of tax evasion/related charges, and that he is sentenced to remain in prison until 2015. Her status is unclear.
I believe Kent Hovind is a good man, an intelligent man, my brother in Christ…and guilty on all counts.
I checked his Wikipedia page, cruised by a few gloating websites where his imprisonment was cherished and cheered, and went back to Eric’s e-mail. Uh-oh.
The Wiki has the basic story, and I encourage everyone to check it out. Just Google Kent Hovind and you’ll see the link.
A few years ago I ordered his seminar DVD set, and, while I don’t agree with all of his assertions, I think he is right about some of them. But this post isn’t about Creationism-it’s about humility.
Here’s my Hovind theory. Knowledge can puff up a person, make them feel superior to others, and I think Hovind had quite an inflated view of himself. And a low opinion of others. That was my opinion formed while watching the DVD set, and later seeing him on television. Even Bible knowledge, perhaps especially Bible knowledge can puff a person up.
Yes, we are adopted into God’s family, which makes us very special to Him. But Christ humbled himself as a man, a servant, and calls us to humble ourselves also as we walk through this world. If we look down on our fellow man, they cannot see God, because when they look up, we are in the way.
I am not better than anyone because I am a Christian. But Christ is better than everyone.
Over a year ago Creation Science Evangelism opened a blog, and I wrote to them, not knowing about the tax issues. I wrote that I hoped that Kent Hovind belonged to a strong church, with a board of elders to advise and govern his ministry. Too many Evangelists run into trouble when they have no-one to tell them “No.” Ask either Jimmy, Bakker of Swaggart. I never received an answer, and my post never showed up on their blog, which soon disappeared.
Remember my earlier “Uh-oh”? Eric’s e-mail continues to defend Hovind instead of showing humility.
God is in charge of every facet of our lives. Nothing happens to us which He does not allow or ordain. May God continue to humble me, as often as necessary, to keep me from Pride and the inevitable fall. While I am here, I will obey the authorities God has set, pay my taxes, be a good citizen, try to live at Peace with God and man. Wish me well.