The Seven

PRIDE

In the Christian tradition, many have considered pride to be the root of all other sins, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden. IT has been argued that pride is the first and fundamental distortion of human existence: putting self over God. Wasn’t this Adam and Eve’s fundamental mistake — to believe that they knew better than God? Wasn’t that the mistake at the Tower of Babel — the idea that by our show of strength we can raise ourselves to God’s level? At the root of so many of our destructive impulses is often the delusional belief that we can be for ourselves or grab for ourselves what only God can be or what only God can give.

Years ago, I worked for a man who proved to be the most egotistical person I’d ever known. He would constantly maneuver conversations and social settings to try to ensure that everyone knew that he sat atop the food chain. He would silence and shame people and was forever telling stories where he would appear as the hero. It had to be exhausting. While he seemed at the time to be a powerful person, I can see now how he was actually living out of a fearful compulsion, trying to construct a life where he felt important and secure — beloved. He was so busy trying to promote himself that he couldn’t receive the goodness God longed to give him.

To counter our destructive, prideful impulses, the first of the 10 Commandments insists that God remains without rival. “Have no Gods other than me,” the Scripture says (Exodus 20:3) NLT. Perhaps this is why Jesus told us that the most essential commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, followed next by the command to love our neighbor (see Matthew 22:37-39). All love comes from God; if we’re not receiving the steady flow of God’s love ourselves, we’ll have none to give away. We’ll never  be able to properly love our neighbors or properly love ourselves or properly love God’s good world.

Pride holds particular seduction for those with power, wealth, knowledge, or notoriety. The more resources we have, the easier it can be to believe we can handle life on our own. An example of this in Scripture is King Uzziah. Uzziah oversaw huge construction projects and amassed large vineyards and enormous herds of cattle. Uzziah also built an impressive army, almost like an ancient version of the Green Berets, an army that made his enemies tremble. He became a great king with great dominance. And the success went to his head. “After Uzziah became powerful,” Scripture says, “his pride led to his downfall” (2 Chronicles 26:16). Pride whispers in our ear, telling us that we’re really something big — that we really don’t need God. It’s not only the powerful, though, who struggle with pride. Those of us who are fixated on ourselves show pride in many ways, even when we seem to have little reason for bloated self-importance.

As with each of the 7 sins, pride is the result of a good desire twisting in an unhealthy direction. A prideful person wants to be seen, to be noticed. And that is a good longing: we’re made to be seen, to be enjoyed, to experience another’s delight in us. However, our desire can only be met through God’s abundant gifts — His love, mercy, and acceptance in His family. Whenever we develop a false image in order to grasp what we want, we push away the very love we so desperately crave.

Question: Where do you feel tempted to promote your false ego or place yourself above God? Or grab approval that only God can give?

Practice: Silence. As an antidote to pride, practice silence. Instead of speaking up every time you have an opinion or every time you could draw attention to yourself, choose strategic moments to stay quiet. Find an hour a week where you can be quiet, listening to no one’s voice other than God’s. Listen for God’s delight in you.