Another Great Man
Dear Champions,
The excerpt below was sent to me by Mr. Jim Mancke who is celebrating his birthday today. He shared with me that not only did President Kennedy die on this day but also C.S. Lewis. His response to my birthday greeting today is worth sharing with you. The Scripture is James 4:6. God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
Thanks for remembering this special day that is actually more special this year than ever. 50-years ago today, November 22, 1963, I was in junior high school as a 9th grader. It was my birthday and with my being a young office worker, the office staff had surprised me with a very special birthday cake. As we were readying ourselves for the cake cutting, the announcement of President Kennedy being shot was made on the radio. Not long after that announcement came the more shocking news of our President's death.
I was asked to go up the narrow stairwell leading to the roof of Evans Junior High School where the flag of our country was flying. My task was to lower that flag to half staff. As young as I was, I still considered it to be a very powerful moment in my life. I will remember it forever!
Interestingly, another great man passed away on that same day. His passing was obviously overshadowed by our President's death. His name - C.S. Lewis. His powerful writings have touched an untold number of lives and especially mine. He was able to express God's love for me in a way no one else has. One of his more moving writings reminds his readers to this day that a great "stumbling block" for mankind is our pride. As he phrased it -
"There is one vice of which no man in the world is free," Lewis wrote, "which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else . . . The vice I am talking of is Pride . . . Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind …
"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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