Stumbling Over Pride

Stumbling Over Pride

Why on earth would I be thinking about pride this early on a Friday morning when the weather is warm and thunderstorms are on the way? What does pride have to do with anything, anyway? And, more to the point, what, exactly, is pride?

Thesaurus.com says pride is delight, dignity, ego, honor, happiness, and several other positive things so why are we cautioned not to be prideful or proud? We remember Scripture says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18.

The key phrase there is “haughty spirit.” Evidently, there is good pride and there is bad pride. Being true to oneself and others, being happy in the work of our hands, having loyalty and respect for our roots, liking who we are and what we stand for, to my way of thinking are all positive traits. The bad pride? Well, that would be thinking more highly of oneself than one should. Pride in riches or station in life are foolish, vain things which are about as substantial as the wind blowing through the treetops. Foolish pride equates with vanity.

When I think of pride, I think of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. Now, that emperor was a prideful, vain man whose inflated idea of his own worth caused him to fall for a most embarrassing falsehood. Everyone except the emperor could see that the suit he thought was so lovely and fine was really nothing at all. It had no substance. I would say  pride certainly went before a fall in that story.

 

Basking in the warm glow of personal achievement or the achievement of others is a good thing. So, can one be humble and still be proud? I think so. I think the inner feeling of self-worth, the knowledge that we’ve done the best we could, the acceptance of who we are and why we believe a certain way are all healthy and good. Boasting or elevating oneself above others is the kind of pride that is false and goes before a right hard downfall. I think if we are humble, others are probably more aware of it than we are. Humility is simply honoring others more than self, trying to see an issue through someone else’s eyes, offering a helping hand or not being too proud to take a helping hand when it’s needed and listening with an open heart and mind.

So, that’s my treatise on pride. I’ve no idea why this seemed important this morning and your ideas may vary greatly from mine. That’s OK. But, these are the thoughts of a country woman on this warm, March day, when the wind is roaring through the treetops, promising rain and maybe storms are on the way. Nature doesn’t concern itself with pride or vanity or humility; nature just is.

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