Pride
Pride and Humility
What is that attribute of intelligent beings that provides an obstacle to the betterment of ones being and a barrier to God's presence in them? If you haven't guessed already it is pride that sets all evil in motion. In a theoretical world without pride there would be instant peace. That however is not possible with various types of pride increasing steadily every day.
What exactly is pride?
Pride is the elation of one's own self, achievements, possessions and regarding as great, all or some of the attributes of one's self. pride is relative to those around. A man alone on an island cannot have pride as this trait is relative to those around. To place one's self above another is called pride and to place one's self below another is called Humility.
Is pride evil?
Only God has the claim to pride, all creation is made of dust and has nothing to be proud of. When pride blocks the grace of God working in our souls through other people whom God has sent then pride is evil.
Where did pride originate?
The earliest instance of Pride we see even before creation. Satan was one of the most beautiful angels in heaven of the highest order of the angels called the Seraphim. He did not want anyone else to be in charge of God's kingdom and so he resorted to non-serviam or rebellion more
Types of pride
- Wealth pride : rich people
- Skill pride : people who are more dexterous than others eg. swimming, musical instrument playing etc.
- Gadget pride : people who can operate gadgets that others cannot. eg sophisticated guns, etc.
- Family pride : people who are proud about their family name and standing
- Intellectual pride : people who deem themselves to be highly intelligent
- Knowledge pride : People who know facts that others do not
- Facial pride : people who look better and have a better figure than others.
- National pride. a people that is proud to be born in a certain country.
- Invincible pride : pride that incorporates all the above pride and the person thinks there is no one like him on the face of the earth.
Some varied examples.
- John has a large amount of property and always boasts about it to others who have small properties.
- A person owns a car like a Ferrari and be prouder than those who have a Chevrolet.
- A person is able to swim deeper and faster and so have pride amongst others who do not.
- A person has intense pride because of his family background and standing
- A person is proud because of a huge amount of wealth he possesses
Effects of pride.
Pride locks a person and obscures the truth. Try as he may he cannot come to the truth because his pride twists the truth and the truth twist him in turn.
pride makes a person do strange things sometimes even risk death. As is seen in sports people taking extreme steps to prove that they are more daring than their neighbor and are more freaked out.
Pride leads to arrogance, haughtiness, jealously, strife, ignorance, self-importance, egotism, superiority.
Pride is what leads to Atheism, this type of pride is unique in that it places oneself over not only over all human being but over God Himself.
How can one identify pride?
Pride can be identified by
- Facial expressions (haughtiness),
- Behaviour (high handedness),
- Speech (boasting)
- Tone of voice
How to counteract Pride.
The opposite of pride is Humility and in simplest of terms one has to study and cultivate humility. Seeing the good in others and at the same time seeing our own worthlessness is a sure sign of humility. Humility is such a desirable trait that even extremely proud people
Who is the greatest example of Humility?
St. Francis was the greatest example of Humility. Among many things that prove his extreme humility is his remaining a brother and not becoming a priest because he felt himself unworthy of handling the Body of Christ. He was rewarded by giving him full control over nature and making him the greatest saint that ever walked the face of the earth and also the one that came closest to Christ.
Myths about pride.
Pride is good for the human being.
The false science of Psychology says that pride is good for the human being. Religion says and proves that a simple way of life in humility gives heart rest. The constant striving to be above one's neighbor is called the Rat-Race and is a direct outcome of pride, the load of which is taken by the heart and leads to improper mental and consequently physical health.
What is Pride and why does it play such an important part in the process of salvation?
Pride is a feeling of greatness and elevating of oneself, group, country etc above others. One's own worth is magnified above those of others. Pride is the first sin of Satan from which all other sins emanate. Pride immediately gives rise to a great feeling of power or machoism and invulnerability. In modern years the false science of psychology has portrayed pride as something desirable and linked it to other new concoctions like self-esteem, Id, Ego etc. Pride is also the cause of heart attacks, ill-feeling and many other diseases. It is also responsible for hundreds of mental problems and absurdities in the thinking processes. Most of all Pride has led to loneliness, dejection and depression. There is only one truth and all other "truths" and lies and fallacy and it is this truth that has to become the reference point for all things.
When a man speaks on his own behalf he is hoping to win favor for himself - Jesus
How does pride prevent the path to the truth?
Firstly let us understand the term truth which has been used and abused. The Truth is what really is irrespective of doctrines, ideologies, schools of thought, etc. for eg an apple is red irrespective if 5 million call it blue or 15 million call it orange. To these people who call it orange they actually believe that those who call an apple red are foolish and liars.
The path to the truth is shrouded and obscured with pride. Imagine a log floating down a river it gets stuck sometimes on this bank and sometimes on that bank sometimes in the middle of the river never reaching its destination. One has to test philosophies and doctrines thoroughly before following them once a trend of thought or doctrine is followed, pride will prevent the perception of the truth and the evil growth will continue till pride transforms its self into arrogance and no recovery is possible. Since the truth is not being used as reference point but rather an aberration of the truth or a fallacy - the truth itself begins to look like lies and in time if not corrected the deception becomes complete. Many remain in error big and small for a long time - some until death. But not past death because death reveals the absolute truth irrespective of anything else.
Why does one not leave a false doctrine and follow a the true one?
The reasons are numerous It all begins with pride however. One would imagine that if a man were following something wrong and were shown the light of the the truth he would immediately follow it. In reality however this is seldom the case.
- The truth immediately becomes a tussle between my truth and your truth. Those that are wrong will not bow down to those that are right which leads to endless discussions and arguments.
- Remember that a man may be following a fallacy for his own reasons because it suits his purpose, he is not necessarily searching for the truth.
- Following the truth might entail changes in his lifestyle which he is not prepared to undertake,
- He fears the reprisal of his colleagues and friends,
- He genuinely believes he is right till death, which reveals all mysteries.
For those who want to believe there is no need of an explanation,
for those who do not want to believe you cannot explain !
Let us take an example - if a man's drinking is causing unrest in a household and another person points this out to the drunkard, then the drunkard will immediately rebel and create other reasons and excuses. This is because his pride is hurt.
Lawyers and advocates thrive on people who do not admit the truth and are specialists in bending and modifying the truth.
The contrary to the Pride is humility & littleness. The champion of humility was St. Francis of Assisi and that of littleness is St. Thresa of Lesieux alias The Little Flower. In fact one prime precondition and thread that runs throughout the saints is humility - from St. John the Apostle to Mother Theresa.
Modern day women know the value of humility but since they cannot be truly humble they fake humility and even this fake humility is appealing to the eyes of their paramours.
I thank thee Father for keeping these things from the wise and revealing them to mere children....Jesus
How do we apply this to eternal truths?
Anyone who is truly searching for the truth will immediately find the Catholic Church because of the thousands of miracles performed by it during the ages one can see clearly the line of miracles passed down from the era before Christ to the era after Christ till the 20th century when Satan and his kingdom was allowed power and raised his own miracle workers. One can see how Christ has continually endorsed the Catholic Church through the centuries with miracles through its saints and numerous visions. Further Christ has explained clearly to the saints what he desires, what he hates in powerful revelations like Anne Catherine Emmerich to which he revealed His entire hidden life, "Mystical City of God" in which the Blessed Virgin explains the fall of Satan and her role in salvation. St Catherine of Sienna to whom God revealed the mystery of salvation.