Is Pride a sin?
The word pride can be associated with a sense of wrong-doing or sin, automatically placing a seed of doubt or guilt in our mind when this experience arises. Thoughts like “am I being too proud?” and “should I just let go?” The idea that pride is a sin comes from the teachings of Christianity and the ‘7 deadly sins’, with pride even characterized as the worst of all, leading to an ‘anti-god’ state and superiority or corrupt selfishness. If you follow the ideology of these teachings, pride is thought to be the opposite of humility. You may be familiar with the saying “pride comes before a fall” - implying if you become too confident or self-assured you will somehow fail and be put back in your rightful, more lowly, position. This reminds me also of the tall-poppy phenomenon of cutting others down before they grow above the rest. The notion that any emotion or human experience is sinful I think is problematic in modern life if we are to meet ourselves with acceptance and be free from unnecessary shame. More broadly, I beleive we have capacity for many ways of establishing a personal moral compass other than the teachings of one religion. I think looking to other definitions is helpful where pride is part of reasonable self-esteem and healthy ego.
There are other definitions of pride, apart from its ‘sinful’ past we can draw upon. Isn’t it wonderful to take care of what you are doing, be happy with your efforts, and see the outcomes with pride? Doesn’t it feel good to tackle a new challenge and feel proud of yourself you did it! It seems like a word that completely changes connotation based on the context and tone of use.
I had the experience of pride a few days ago and it got me thinking about this topic.
So the story goes… I was swimming in the bay at St Kilda as part of a triathlon on Sunday and the wind was creating a level of turbulence in the water I was not prepared for, and certainly did not train for! Thoughts started to enter my mind that “I can’t do this” and I could easily opt out. I waved my hand in the air for some support of a nearby lifesaver who was monitoring our group of arms and legs thrashing around. She rushed over with her yellow-red get-up, lovely freckles and white-zinc lips and reassured me I could get on the life-boat and be escorted to shore and in fact, many people had done the same that morning. My pride hit and I realized I did not want the experience of reuniting with the shore by boat and not finishing the event! The truth was I would have felt embarrassed. Would embarrassment be justified? No, I did my best and it was difficult conditions I wasn’t ready for. And yet, pride was the thing that kept me going. I looked ahead and sized up the next marker and did a few strokes at a time while my water angel watched me for a little longer, and I completed the race. In this case pride lead to motivation and confidence that let me carry on. Pride can be dangerous if the ego is so intent on saving face that your judgement starts to get clouded. If I had absolutely no hope of swimming and pride kept me going, that could have been dangerous!
What do you think? I think it is a helpful exercise to consider how pride can serve as a positive motivator, and when pride can get in the way of better judgement.