Pride, the Universal Sin...

I believe pride is something with which most, if not all, struggle, or, perhaps not. But even if you don't struggle to remove it from your life, pride can be a part of who you are without your even being aware of it. It is something that I seem to be able to detect in others easily, but something which I struggle to see in myself. Yes, I am a hypocrite. I know I'm filled with pride and I struggle to find ways to rid myself of it. But honestly, I'm not sure how.

When I detect its presence, I reject it, mentally castigating myself for having my prideful thoughts and attitudes, but so far, my efforts have been superficial and I have been left to myself, without making any real progress or realizing any real change.

It's not that I don't desire to change...my attempts are sincere. But, I have come to realize that once pride gets a grip on someone's life, that it holds them tenaciously. Really, to banish pride from your life once it's been recognized requires you to change the way you both think and feel at a fundamental level which seems almost unapproachable. You have to change the way you think and feel about yourself and others. You must become a different person than you now are. How is that even possible?

Removing sins like this that are so deeply rooted in our nature is not trivial, and perhaps not even possible without God's help. Perhaps this is the whole point of the atonement...that it offers a way forward through God's grace and power even when our best efforts are not enough. We are promised through the atonement that we can be born again, becoming new and different people (Mosiah 17:24-26, 1John 5:3-4), but how do I access this transformative power and apply it to my own life?

Some would say that people are just that way and as long as they confess God and love Him, His grace will be sufficient to save them. While it is true that God's grace is the only thing that can save us, our meager attempts being ridiculously inadequate, if my actions and attitudes offend and hurt God's other children, ultimately, this hurts and offends God.

The Lord states the following in Matthew 25:34-40:

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

I take this scripture very literally. When our attitudes and actions hurt another, this is a sin paid for through the suffering of our Lord. Treating others with kindness and respect and administering to their relief in a very literal way is as though these acts of kindness were done for and to the Lord. If we truly love God, we will seek out those who need our help and will show them and everyone else kindness, love and respect. How can we love God when we don't love those around us? Trying to do so is an illusion and self deception or, at best, a lack of understanding (1 John 4:20-21, 1 John 2:9-11).

And so pride is something I struggle with and try to eliminate from my nature. I realize now that I will need God's help through His son, Jesus Christ to be successful. I need to seek this change through repentance and prayer and through increased love to and for those around me (Moroni 7:45-48).

President Ezra Taft Benson, a former president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that at the heart of pride lies enmity. He said that when we direct our pride toward God, that we pit our will against God's will and His commandments, demanding that our will be done rather than God's. This places us in a state of rebellion against God. When our pride is directed toward others, it places us in competition with them and leads to contention and harsh feelings. To see the full text of his general conference address, go here: President Benson's Talk - Beware of Pride.

Some of my thoughts on pride:

• Pride at its heart is enmity.
• It pits us against others...against God.
• Pride says you're not as good as me and because you're not as good as me, I don't have to like you. And if I do decide to like you I have done you a great favor.
• Pride leads us to feel in our hearts: You don't deserve my friendship because you aren't as good as me.
• It causes us to devalue those around us and is a motivating factor for justifying the bad treatment of others.
• If in my mind someone isn't as good as me then it is much easier for me to rationalize that it's OK to be mean to them and treat them differently than I would a friend.
• People who aren't my equals aren't my friends...pride breeds enmity and contention.
• Hitler's warped nationalist pride is an extreme example of pride's potential for contention and evil.
• Pride has the curious ability to blind its victims robbing them of their clarity of mind, distorting the way they see themselves and others.
• Many people don't recognize pride in themselves, but everyone else can see it clearly.
• The Pharisees are an example of pride's ability to blind people such that they may even think they are doing God's work when in reality, they are fighting against Him all along the way.
• The scriptures teach that we should become of one heart and be liberal and familiar with all men and esteem all men as our brothers...that we are to love others as we love ourselves (Jacob 2:16-18, Luke 10:25-28).
• Pride justifies contention and destroys the love and unity the scriptures teach us to develop. How can you really love someone as you do yourself when deep down you think you are better than they are?
• Thinking you are less than others is pride inside out. When pride assumes this form it is just as destructive. This form of pride masquerades as humility but causes a person to turn inward toward self loathing. How can a person do as Christ directs and love others when inwardly, they don't like themselves?
• Any time we feel compelled to compare ourselves to others in negative ways, pride is at the heart and is the motivation for doing so.
• So pride turns a person outward in negative ways or inward in negative ways. The common thread running through pride is that it is negative and destructive.

This world could be so much better if it didn't have to bear the heavy costs of pride which motivates so much sin and contention. I'm going to try to unburden it a little by attempting to eliminate pride from my life. If you also struggle with pride you can join me in this journey. I would welcome your company and support. I'll be praying for your success, and mine.