Dumped Like a Lead Balloon

“Let each man surrender his own longings to the glory of Jesus and declare: "If my lying in the dust would elevate my Lord by so much as an inch, let me still lie among the pots of earth. If to live on earth forever would make my Lord more glorious, it should be my heaven to be shut out of heaven." - C.H. Spurgeon

If you asked me what character trait God loves the most, my answer would be humility. Why is that? Perhaps because I think the character trait He hates the most is pride.

After all, pride was the first recorded sin. Lucifer woke up one day, looked in the mirror, and was so enraptured by his appearance that he decided he wanted to be like God (see Isaiah 14:12-15). Bad move, Satan! Sadly, he somehow convinced 1/3 of the angels to join in his misguided rebellion and as a result, they were all cast out of heaven to await their final judgment… and their final destination, which is the Lake of Fire (see Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 20:10).

The problem with gaining humility is that it is a grueling and arduous process. And yes, I am speaking from personal experience.

The first time God had to break me of my pride was in 1981. I was about to graduate from college and thought I had the world by the tail. Wrong! Within a month’s time, the girl I was seriously dating dumped me like a lead balloon and I couldn’t find a full-time job in my field for 10 months. Having experienced nonstop academic success up to that point, I guess I had developed an inflated ego… and God was forced to take drastic action to correct my problem.

The second time was in 2011. After leading a very successful prison ministry for 24 years and running for Congress twice, I was burned out through and through. And so, our family picked up stakes and moved to Florida where I worked three part-time jobs and grossed $18,000 my first year. I can remember leaving for work in my Sports Authority uniform – I was running the golf and tennis department for minimum wage – and saying to Deanna, “This is really humbling.”

But guess what, my friend? Both of those humbling times were necessary to bring me back to earth… and back to God. And so, as painful as those experiences were, I am glad they happened because they helped make me the man I am today.

Not perfect by a long shot, but arguably more Christlike than I was before… and that’s all that matters.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” I Peter 5:6 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President