"Pride"

What is Pride?

Well, in it's lowest form, it's probably satisfaction on a job well done, in it's average form it's most often a high sense of one's personal status or ego, and in it's highest form it is self-idolatry, in which one rejects God for one's self image and therefore thinks of himself as God, as we can see with the example of Lucifer.

Ezekiel 28:12 says Lucifer was "The seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." He was one of the most powerful archangels. Verse 17 says it was Pride that did him in: "Your heart was Proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor, I cast you to the ground." And believe it or not he took a third of all the angels with him.

We've all had Pride of some sort, but it seems Pride does not want to stay at it's lowest form. It's a very competitive and greedy emotion that's never satisfied and needs to be fed and wants to grow. You also cannot start at the top. You have to start at the bottom with Pride and work your way up. Pride does not like when its growth or progress is hindered.

Pride is a haughty emotion. It does not like to see pride in other people because it sees that pride as competition. Pride is the opposite of humility and hates humility with a passion. It will often get in the way when you know in your heart you should do this or you should do that. For example if you wrong someone and want to undo that wrong, pride will stand in the way.

CS Lewis writes that pride is the one vice of which there is no man in the world is free; and the more we have it ourselves, the more we loathe when we see it in someone else.

Also Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.

Lewis also states that "Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind."

Still, Pride in it's lowest form such as seeing a job well done, receiving well deserved praise, or seeing one's children meet or exceed expectations, is probably a useful and healthy emotion.

But the question is: Can we keep Pride to it's lowest form? Can we handle Pride when it decides to grow and expand like a tare?

For we all know Pride is not content in it's lowest form. Pride wants to grow and include self-importance, arrogance, self-conceit, haughtiness, self-love, boasting and bragging, etc.

For you see Pride has no room for God or even a fellow man. Pride is all about one's self. Even the word Pride itself has centered in it's middle the letter "i".

"When you're running on empty spiritually, Pride will keep you going." - louie.