Comedy star Kevin Hart could never forget how his mother compelled him to read the Bible.
Hart first told the story when he appeared in The Oprah Winfrey Show back in March 2014, which God Reports recently highlighted.
Going back to that interview, Hart told Winfrey that when he was still a struggling comedian, he needed some financial support from his mother to at least pay the rent of his apartment in Philadelphia.
One time when the rent due date passed, he called his mom to ask her for some money. But all she could say was, "Have you been reading your Bible?"
Hart apparently didn't mind what his mother said. A week later, he reminded her about his request for some financial help. His mother simply rephrased what she said before: "When you read your Bible, then we'll talk about your rent."
The comedian said he was quite annoyed by the words of his "over-religious" mom, but since he was desperate for money after receiving an eviction notice, he half-heartedly agreed to his mom's condition.
What happened next stunned Hart and made him realised his mother's good intention. As he opened the family Bible, six rent cheques fell out. Little did he know that his mother, who passed away in 2007, put all his rent cheques in the Bible.
While the comedian doesn't flaunt his Christianity and even pokes fun at her mother's religiosity in comedy routines, Hart is believed to have inherited the Christian values of his mother.
"His whole family was dedicated to Christianity, and Hart uses his family's faith as a frequent topic in his stand-up. He doesn't make fun of Christianity itself, but he does make fun of how people can be hypocritical with religion," according to Hollowverse.
Hart quickly rose to fame with his unique comedic style where he delves into his own insecurities and life experiences, industry observers note.
He became a huge Hollywood star by starring in such films as the Scary Movie franchise, "Soul Plane," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Death at a Funeral," and "Little Fockers."
Hart was even more successful in his comedy tours.
In April 2015, fellow comedian and actor Chris Rock paid tribute to Hart, calling him America's "biggest stand-up comedian" in an article he wrote for Time magazine.
"After he makes you laugh for an hour, you feel like you're his friend—you feel his joy and his pain. If he has asthma, you have asthma," Rock said.
Last year, Forbes magazine named Hart as the successor to Jerry Seinfeld as King of Comedy, earning $87.5 million in just one year—from June 2015 to June 2016—over $30 million more than Seinfeld's $43.5 million.
