Pride (Sin)

Pride causes us to think higher of ourselves than we are. This kind of thinking has been around ever since sin entered the world, and many say that sin begins with pride. One of those many, Saint Augustine, a Medieval Church Father, speaking of the original sin of Adam and Eve, writes, “What is more, the root of their bad will was nothing else than pride. For, ‘pride is the beginning of all sin.” Given what we know about pride, it makes sense that it’s considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Our pride is deadly because it deceives us into believing it’s not. And sometimes, the source of our greatest gifts from God are the places where pride is most easily found. Back in college, I remember being awakened to this reality in my life. I’ve always known that God has gifted me as a loyal and committed person, and all of a sudden, I realized that I was getting sinfully (and pridefully) upset with others who would cancel plans with me. As these things happened, I’d think things like, “I’d never do that to that person!” One day, as that thought came to mind, I felt the rebuke of the Holy Spirit calling out my pride. I saw I wasn’t considering other people’s experiences and caring for the real things they might be going through. I realized that in thinking about these things, the loyalty and commitment I praised myself for weren’t present in dealing with these friends. But that’s the thing about pride. It’s so easy to be blind to it. Jesus makes this reality clear in Luke 18:9–14 as he tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Both men pray in this parable, but their attitudes are completely different. The Pharisee thanks God that he is ‘not like other men.’ This alone should sound the alarm bells of pride, but this Pharisee continues. After saying this, he goes on to list men for their sins, which includes judging the tax collector who is with him.