Subtle and Deadly

"A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour." - Proverbs 29:23 (NIV)



C. S. Lewis offered an eye-opening perspective on pride. He believed that it lead to every other vice. Carefully consider his words: "Does this seem to you exaggerated? If so, think it over. I pointed out a moment ago that the more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me or refuse to take any notice of me?' The point is that each person's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride. It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Now what you want to get clear is - pride is essentially competitive! It gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking, there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest."

Why does Solomon say a man's pride will bring him low? Because it's easy to fool someone who thinks himself clever. All you have to do is pander to his ego. Pride can blind you to your own faults, the clear teaching of Scripture, and the pitfalls that lie in your path. Be very careful of lurking pride. It can be subtle and yet so deadly.


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