The Bane of Pride

In a world in which “pride” has become a synonym for the LGBTQ movement, its original association must not be lost on our generation. “Pride” is the exaltation of self, no matter what or who gets in the way of our achievements. The Oxford English Dictionary says this about “pride” — “A high, especially an excessively high, opinion of one's own worth or importance which gives rise to a feeling or attitude of superiority over others; inordinate self-esteem (Old English), and in this sense the first of the seven deadly or capital sins.” What caught my attention is the note — “the first of the seven deadly or capital sins.” Indeed, the writer of Proverbs notes pride as chief among the seven deadly things the Lord hates — There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes . . .” (Proverbs 6:16, 17a)

Robert Macdonald, a Scottish minister in the Puritan tradition in the nineteenth century, noted this about pride — “There is a wide difference between the lowly and the proud. They differ in self-estimate. The lowly look carefully for faults in themselves, and just as carefully for excellences in others, and so are able honestly to esteem others better than themselves; but the proud, reversing this method, look for excellences in themselves, and for faults only in others. They differ also in feeling. Whatever their circumstances, the lowly, in the warmth of their gratitude, say, 'What are we, to receive so much?' while, even in abundance, the proud fretfully whisper, 'Why do we receive so little?' Moreover, they differ in dependence. Knowing their own weakness and liability to fall, the lowly make the Lord alone their confidence, and their daily prayer is, 'Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe'; whereas, vainly self-reliant, the proud almost disdain to seek guiding or upholding of any kind. Finally, they differ in motive. The grand animating motive of the lowly is not their own glory, but the Lord's: 'He must increase; I must decrease'; whereas the things ever uppermost with the proud are their own name, and fame, and exaltation.” (Robert Macdonald, From Day to Day, Or Helpful Words for the Christian Life, Banner of Truth, 2023, first published 1880)

My concern is that we are raising a generation of prideful children, kids who believe they can do most anything they want, achieve any height they desire, conquer any obstacle in their way, as long as they work hard enough and want it deeply enough. I have seen this evidenced in talking with today’s average young person. Rather than taught to be the best they can realistically be, and accept their place in God’s economy, they believe they can do anything. All it takes is more hard work, maybe some luck of the draw, and they will be right there.

Of course, many will object to such a “negative” assessment and disagree with it. Many will say that our kids are taught to be “the best they can be.” But to be average is unacceptable and even demeaning. Children are not taught or schooled about humility and God’s place for their life and work. Their “I can do anything I want” is the bane of pride that we deal with in our kids today. “Humility” is a dirty word and not even taught in many of our schools and even in many of our churches in their children’s programming. After all, they can be anything in Jesus they want to be. Many children will grow up believing that if they fail, and they will, it is the fault of others or their lack of luck or something outside of themselves. They may never accept the fact that they are average kids and not good enough for the “big time” because they are not taught to be humble and accept what God has planned for them.

I play tennis. I have known for many years that no matter how hard I practice, no matter how many matches I play, no matter how much time I spend in the gym, no matter how good my tennis trainer is, I will never rank even in the top 400 or lower of professional players, let alone the top tier of professional tennis champions. I have never had the skill set or God given talent for such a place or positioning. I enjoy playing at my level with people that are better than myself to improve parts of my game. To beat them consistently requires a level that I have never reached and cannot do so. This is the reality. Humility tells me to accept who I am as a tennis player and enjoy the game for its health benefits and comradery. Pride forces me to be angry when I lose, to blame the court or the day or the balls or the wind or the other distractions of playing the game. The other player is not “better” than I am, just “better today.”

We need to learn humility once again. We need to teach it to our children. We need to display it among others in whatever profession or sport we do. We need to fight against the bane of pride.