I have presently been reading Mere Christianity, and more specifically, a section on pride. Lewis describes pride as being the worst of all sin, saying pride IS enmity. I've been thinking about it, and it seems that yes, in one use of the word it certainly can be a very hellish thing within us, but in other uses it can be quite positive.
For instance, you should take pride in your work. It doesn't necessarily mean that you should do your best in order to be better than someone else, or you should look down on work lesser than your own. To take pride in one's work means that you should give it your best effort, and do such work that you do not consider shabby and that you are not ashamed to be associated with.
A father can be proud of his son, or a coach can be proud of his player. Certainly this is a negative side of pride if you are wanting to be associated with someone in order that your own status may increase. But I found myself telling a guy I was tutoring who had done well on a placement test that I was proud of him. I only mean that I am happy for his accomplishment and he should feel good about himself for doing so. Now would he be feeling pride if he was feeling good about himself? I hardly think so. After all, we are all trying our hardest (hopefully) to be more Christlike (that includes doing your best always) and so should we not be happy when we find ourselves walking down that path? I think the negative pride comes in when we do a good job on something in order that others think higher of us, but to say that we should not feel proud if we pass a difficult test or run a long race or resist a temptation would be to say that we should never have good self-esteem.
Humility should not be confused with low self-esteem. If you ace a difficult test, you shouldn't lie to yourself that you didn't do anything very great, but neither should you display your test where all can see your high marks. Humility simply dictates us to keep our self-esteem to ourselves.
One last thing on pride. Everyone has some sort of talent, and some have extreme talent. Would it be prideful to pray to God and thank Him for it? I don't think so, as long as we understand the next point. When I understand who God is and who I am, I realize that the only reason that I am smart or that I am stupid or that I am fast or that I am slow or that I am artistic or not artistic has nothing to do with me but everything to do with how God created me. If I am particularly smart, God could have just as easily have made me quite dumb, and I could hardly do anything about it. I have no say in how God made me. When we realize this, I think it is worshipful, appropriate, and quite necessary to thank God for the talents that he gave you.
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My thoughts on life, how we live it, and the principles that govern it
INTRODUCTION
One of the best ways I think is to start talking and see where my words lead me. This is what this blog is about. If you find yourself thinking of these issues as well, then feel free to read my thoughts and add your own. If an argument is illogic or contradictory, by all means let me know. Logic starting with evidence is the only road to honest conclusions.
2 comments:
A couple of thoughts. (Thoughts without a lick of practical applicability, but thoughts nonetheless).
1 - We are probably often proud of what we should be grateful for and often grateful for what we should be proud of. I'll explain. I don't have any business being proud of anything unless it be a direct result of a decision I've made or effort I've exherted; everything else is to God's credit. Or, to put it another way, I ought not be proud of anything beyond the realm of free will; everything outside this realm is God's responsibility to determine, create, own, and govern as He sees fit. (Or at least that's the way it seems to me.) Here's some examples: I can be justifiably proud with the new shelving I installed in my garage this last weekend. I worked hard and it looks nice - good for me. I probably shouldn't be proud of being a logical, intelligent thinker. That quality is not a result of any decision I made, certainly. It's how God put me together. I can be grateful if I want to. Now here's a tricky one: creativity. When I compose a piece of music, sometimes I am immensely proud of it. My pride is not too concerned with my effort involved in composing so much as the perceived genius of the piece itself. Perhaps the full credit should be going to God for this? That's hard for me to take. I like being the "master" of this creation, but perhaps the credit does lie elsewhere. Now an example of being grateful for what one should be proud of: Suppose an athlete overcomes physical and mental obstacles to achieve some seemingly impossible goal. The athlete gives full credit to God. I'm going to be audacious enough to say that 100% of the credit shouldn't go to God. Some credit should be given to God for the opportunities given to the athlete to make the accomplishment possible, sure. But much was accomplished (and should be accredited) as a direct result of free will - the decisions and effort exherted by the individual.
2 - Ahhh, forget it. I gotta get back to work and I've been rambling long enough. I didn't really give any thought to the above, just started typing. I think I more wanted to make a post on your blog than actually make a point!
Absolutely we should be more open about the abilities we have been given. Pride comes in when we attribute them to ourselves and not to God.
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