(15b) his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord--valiant men.
18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God."
19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar.
We hear a lot about "pride" these days, and it's a word that has been co-opted by a certain agenda. But, in the Bible, we see that pride is equated with rebellion against God. God's heart is reflected in Zephaniah 3, as He speaks to Israel:
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one shall make them afraid."
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
An actor who is particularly well-known in Christian circles has been doing some reading lately. Publicly. That would be former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron, who, in the face of public libraries hosting Drag Queen story hours, asked such libraries to allow him to come in an read his book, As You Grow. Most turned him down, but several allowed him to come and read. The pushback of one librarian in Tennessee resulted in her being dismissed from her position.
So, Kirk now has a new book called, Pride Comes Before the Fall, and according to a Movieguide article:
Cameron told Fox News Digital, “I’m so excited about this book because it’s so fun and full of action and adventure – and the kids are loving it. I read it at the Billy Graham library [in North Carolina] for the first time.”
For his next stop on his nationwide tour Cameron, and his team plan to travel to the Seattle Public Library. Where he plans to read the new book.
When chatting on the book’s storyline Cameron stated, “There’s danger, adventure, waterfalls.”
He continued, “With a nation that is so saturated with the idea that pride is a good thing, the Bible warns us that pride is the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. Before greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy and lust – is pride.”
That Seattle event occurred almost two weeks ago, and the Washington Examiner reported on it - it quoted Cameron as saying to the audience: “We’re in a culture that increasingly seems to have our eyes focused on more and more on ourselves — self-exultation and it’s all about self-expression,” adding, “The virtue of self-control, and humility, and thinking of others first is rare and we need more and more of that.”
Coach Joe Kennedy, the football coach who took his firing for praying at midfield after games to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he was victorious, was part of the event, as well. The report says:Cameron told the Washington Examiner that Kennedy also “shared his humble story of faith, then huddled up and prayed to remind the kids to always do the right thing and consider others more important than yourselves.”
“The whole reason I became a coach was to help our youth and our kids be the best versions of themselves possible,” Kennedy said. “I’m so excited to be partnering with Kirk.”
Protesters gathered outside the Seattle Public Library, holding signs in opposition to Cameron’s latest book that has targeted the idea of pride.
In addition to visiting public libraries, Cameron released a video last month that appears to be a continuation of his "Campfire Revival" series that he started during the pandemic which was seen online for 100 days. Movieguide reports:
Kirk Cameron took to his Facebook to share to viewers a reason to hope in a world that is broken.
Cameron opened up in prayer and stated, “We thank You God that we get to partner with You in this mission of bringing heaven to earth. So, we ask for Your blessing tonight and we ask that You fill our hearts with hope and with joy and with faith. Because that’s how You called us to live.”
Following the prayer, Cameron began with his immense gratitude to God for protecting his daughter from a dangerous situation. Cameron recalled God’s promise to watch over His children and protect them.
Cameron continued to discuss the “wicked rebellion” that God settled within the heart of every human and concluded the video by ultimately sharing the Good News of the Gospel.
Every day, we recognize that we have an opportunity and a challenge - we are to live each day for the glory of God. That means that our decisions and demeanor are to be governed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is a personal responsibility. And, by living in this manner, we are making a distinction from the cultural norms. We are placed in this world, but we are certainly not of this world.
Our lives are also to demonstrate a certain humility that is infused by the Holy Spirit - indeed, we are not to be proud or self-centered, because that sets us up for spiritual ineffectiveness. We are to be totally reliant on the Savior who has given us new life. And, we can be reminded that if we are following the Savior, that He gives us the capacity to testify to His greatness.
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