^{DAVID M. WASMUNDT}

 

^{At the end of the fourth century, the church fathers cataloged "seven deadly sins" of which pride topped the list. The other sins listed were lust, gluttony, envy, anger, greed, and sloth.}

^{The Bible indicates that pride is indeed the greatest sin because so many other sins flow from the root of pride. For example, pride leads to selfishness, jealousy, anger and a myriad of other destructive behaviors that cause havoc in the human race and alienation from God. The Bible also indicates that Lucifer (Satan) was cast out of Heaven because of pride and it has correctly stated that at the center of all sin is not only the letter "i" but the pride of "I."}

^{Pride keeps people from reconciling their differences and from repentance to God. Wise Solomon said, "Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall," and then proceeded to demonstrate that awareness of this pitfall is not enough. Personal pride is difficult to detect as illustrated by the fact that we can detect a whisper of pride in other people but cannot seem to hear the bombastic roar coming from our own lives. As a result, even good people fall prey to the "plague of pride."} 

^{For example, the pride spirit gets into the religious arena quite often and is illustrated by the Pharisees "elitist attitude" that says "I know I am smarter and wiser than you are" and also at the other end of the spectrum where people exhibit the "Bless God, I may be ignorant, but I am proud of it" mentality.}

^{Then there is the "false humility" syndrome that says in effect, "I am so humble. Let me tell you how humble I am. In fact, I am so humble... that I'm proud to be so humble." Bragging and boasting about one’s self is just another symptom of the plague of pride. Addison Mizner once said, "Don’t talk about yourself. It will be done when you leave."}

^{Bottom line truth: It has been said, "Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down." God has ways of humbling even the most haughty among us. If we fail to resist the plague of pride, it have a disastrous effect on our lives here on earth and alsowill  in eternity. "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble" (James 4:6)}

Copyright © 2009 David M. Wasmundt and WOW Publications. All rights reserved.