No HAM

“Bacon-lovers unite” could be a rally-cry for all who love [even crave] the best part of the hog!  In recent years, we’ve seen bacon covered & smothered with everything from gravy to chocolate.  Consider the BLT without bacon … well, for one, it’s not a BLT! 

 

There is a serious spiritual illness among men: HAM disease, and it attacks suddenly and without warning!  HAM’s early signs are unhealthy thought patterns leading to bad attitudes ending in bad behavior.  Old Testament King Nebuchadnezzar developed the HAM, and things did not go well for him.  The final symptom of HAM led him to admire himself, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30).   Yes, King Nebuchadnezzar developed the sickness when he began to think too highly of himself; the result was HAM -- High And Mighty.  Verse 31 says, "While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!"  Even well-meaning and deeply spiritual Christians often become victims to pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness.  Soon their eyes depart from the Kingdom of God and His understanding.  We are instructed to “walk humbly with God,” (Micah 6:8), honoring Him (and not ourselves) as the Mighty and Sovereign of life.  King Nebuchadnezzar paid a high and personal price as he learned to "praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of Whose Works are truth, and His Ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down." (V.37).  No, I’m not ready to give up bacon or ham!  There remains only one cure, however, for spiritual HAM (High And Mighty): acknowledge the One True King Who is Highest and Mightiest of heaven and earth.  We honor Him best when we … walk humbly!