7 Deadly Sins: Pride

We've finally reached the master deadly sin! When we first started talking about the seven deadly sins, we used the imagery of a tree. We started with the tiny twigs- those are the individual actions of a sin; then we moved on to the thicker branches, which were the seven deadly sins (the thoughts behind the actions). But what about the trunk and roots? There are two ways of looking at these "trees"- one is to say that each sin is an entire tree (ie- the trunk of gluttony is made up of the persistent gluttonous thoughts, which give way to the individual branches of actions) OR to use the metaphor of the ancient monastics, we place pride as the trunk of the tree Sinis Deadlious (for the record, Sinis Deadlious is not an actual Latin name for a tree), and see all of the other 6 deadly sins as branching out from that original, prideful trunk.

For the ancient monastics, pride is the root of all the other sins. Why? Because we wouldn't feel we have a right to act in those harmful ways if we truly understood our place in time and in the world. It's only when we have an over-blown sense of importance that we begin to forget how interconnected we are. Pride is also considered the original sin; Satan forgot his place in God's kingdom and decided he was as great as his Father, while Adam and Eve also sought to achieve God-like status through the eating of the apple (see Genesis 3:4-6 for a refresher). Most of us might not verbalize a desire to become deities, but we're not generally opposed to being vaulted a little higher than our peers.

So what is pride, exactly? In sin language, it gets broken down into 3 categories- two of which used to be their own separate sins (Pope Gregory rolled pride and vainglory together way back around A.D. 590). We have:

Pride: The desire and pursuit of being the "best" and most worthy. This twists the righteous pursuit of excellence into a desire to place yourself above others, as well as putting your sense of worth into an achievement that will likely be overshadowed at some point (world record holders, for example, regularly have their records broken in their own lifetimes- often within years). What happens to your sense of self when you're no longer the best, but are also no longer capable of reclaiming that title?

Ambition: The desire to be viewed and applauded as the best by a certain group of people. Ambitious people don't care that everyone knows how great they are, but they care greatly to receive praise from people they think are worthy. An example of this might be an actor needing to win an award at a certain film festival in order to feel like he made it or a student needing NHS membership in order to feel like she's a good enough student. You can insert just about anything into those categories, but the main point is that ambition requires outward recognition from others in order to be pleased with the accomplishment. Oh, and in case you're thinking that "ambitious" is a poor word choice, it's worth noting that dictionary.com has this to say about its history:

n.

mid-14c., from Middle French ambition or directly from Latin ambitionem (nominative ambitio) "a going around," especially to solicit votes, hence "a striving for favor, courting, flattery; a desire for honor, thirst for popularity," noun of action from past participle stem of ambire "to go around" (see ambient ).

Rarely used in the literal sense in English, where it carries the secondary Latin sense of "eager or inordinate desire of honor or preferment." In early use always pejorative, of inordinate or overreaching desire; ambition was grouped with pride and vainglory.

Vainglory: The desire and pursuit of praise regardless of whether you've earned it and no matter who gives it. Vainglorious people want to be known and acknowledged above all else. We can all think of certain reality TV stars who fit this bill, but it can be much closer to home, too- think about how you feel when you post something to Facebook in order to get more "likes" or really, when you make any decision based on whether it'll raise or lower your status among your peers.

Fame is a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does.

-Gilderoy Lockhart

While it's good to know the theory of what these terms mean, it's also important to know what they might look like. And what's a blog post without a bulleted list?
Pride, ambition, and vainglory might look like:

• Gaston from Beauty and the Beast 
• Kim Kardashian
• Selfies (not all of them- but the idea that you need to take/post a selfie in order for an experience to "count")
• Constant social media updates (in the belief that everyone wants to hear what you have to say), 
• Service opportunities in order to record them for recognition (like NHS or scholarship applications)
• Sassy comebacks meant to shut others up (might be funny, but they're meant to make you look good and the other person look "less than" you)
• One-upmanship when someone's telling a story
• Always wanting to be right rather than acknowledging another's point of view
• Making assumptions (caveat: we all have to make decisions based on what we know at that point in time. This bullet point references thoughtless, self-assured assumptions.)
• Any type of prejudice
• Velma Vanity (appearance is king)
• Eddie Education (believes he’s intellectually superior to you; value is based on the letters that come after his name or the diplomas on his wall)
• Anna Accomplishment (awards and honors are the basis of status and sense of self)
• Ronny Reverse (the middle-class snob- everyone else’s goals are so superficial, "I’m more real, better than you phonies")
• Ned Name-dropper (fame and any associations with it are what give him sense of importance)
• Martha and Marvin Materialism (sense of worth is in having the “best” material goods and most money)

What about "I'm so proud of you?"

While this phrase could show a sense of centering your self worth in another's accomplishments (living vicariously through your children or friends, see Ned the Name-Dropper above), usually this phrase really means, "I'm so pleased with you!" or "You did something good, and I want to acknowledge your efforts and let you know how much it means to me." It's a turn of phrase we use in our culture that doesn't really imply the sort of sinful pride we're covering. 

The Dangers of Self-Esteemia

Since the early 1990's, the US culture has had a focus on building self-esteem in kids. Self esteem, of course, being the idea that everyone has basic worth and rights (in relation to other people). Though you will never find the word "self-esteem" in the bible, this falls in line with the biblical idea that we are granted inherent value as sons and daughters of God, through Christ. Self-esteemia, on the other hand, is what our cultural focus on self-esteem has turned into- it’s taking that biblical idea and twisting it into the idea that we are all excellent and wonderful and worthy of praise for simply existing. It's the idea that everyone gets a trophy for participating, or that no one ever needs to work on themselves because we’re just born that way; it’s become a way of using praise to make up for every challenge in life. Self-esteemia is an overblown sense of worth in the world. We're now finding, through lots of studies, that kids who fall prey to self-esteemia's life theory of "I'm worthy of praise and recognition because I'm alive"  are less empathetic, more selfish, more self-absorbed, and are generally less satisfied with life unless they have some other guiding principals to bring them out of it.

 So if praise alone isn't enough to make you satisfied with your life... what is? 

The Deep Satisfaction of Humility

 Humility is NOT what we often associate it with- the similar sounding humiliation. It is not the belief that we are worms, that we have no value or skills to offer- that's reverse pride (believing that you are the worst of the worst, that no one has ever been as bad or incapable as you). Humility IS

recognizing that you are not perfect, but you still have something to offer. It’s taking an honest look at what God has given you to work with, and offering it up to others when you are prompted by God. Humility is forcing the world’s approbation to take a back seat to pleasing God- even if it makes you look stupid in the eyes of the world, even if it means that you never achieve recognition for your work. And if it means that you are exalted above all of your peers, you watch for God’s pleasure, not the fickleness of humankind.

Once you accept your flaws, no one can use them against you.

-Anonymous

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

-C.S. Lewis

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

-Mahatma Gandhi

  What might humility look like, then?

• Humility is asking questions and loving dialogue
• Humility has never found someone it couldn’t learn from
• Humility assumes there is always something more to learn… about everything.
• Humility assumes I need others; it’s admitting that others may be stronger than me and that we are all better together.
• Humility would rather be open and vulnerable than closed and independent.
• Humility uses conversations to explore new worlds, rather than as a personal broadcast.
• Humility puts energy, effort, and concentration into listening.
• Humility accepts that there will also be another sin to conquer.
• Humility strives to be of use in service to others.
• Humility recognizes our transcendence here on earth.
• Humility treats friends and peers as equals, as fellow travelers on the road to God.
• Humility believes what the Gospel says about our need for grace.

We'll close with the Catholic Litany of Humility. It's a tough prayer, as it challenges so very many of the ideas our culture believes, but it's worth reading through and reflecting upon:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.