Pride/Ego

Growing up, I could never quite understand why pride could be such a great sin. Maybe that was because I thought we all had a bit of pride, and especially personal pride in family. I was, and still am, proud of my late parents, and my family, past and present. For me, pride was no big deal, so when it was a subject of a Sunday sermon, I switched off.

There is an old Gospel song, which says:
“Lord help me live from day to day,
In such a self forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for others”.

Are you old enough to remember this old song? What great words, and an example of selflessness. Maybe there is a link between Pride and Selfishness, and they are interchangeable. That puts a new slant on the word Pride, for me at least. The proud are usually (if not always) selfish. In fact, as I think about it, the folks I think have a proud streak, are also self centred! I pray God will keep me/us humble!

And there is another mystery. We try to be humble, as we follow Christ’s teachings, and that can only be a good thing. However, I remember an old sermon which taught that when we think we are humble, and have reached a spirit of humility, we have actually lost it. We can become proud of our humility, and almost wear it as a badge of honour. Right then it becomes pride, and we are back where we started, having to deal with that elusive sin. So my old pastor was right. Pride is a sin, and a recurring one at that. Maybe a bit like a revolving door. The more we try to be humble, the greater the risk of falling back into pride, and sin. May God give us wisdom to know true humility, and step out of the spotlight of pride, and keep us true to the best example of humility we have in the life of Jesus.