We have learned that sinful pride can be a great hindrance to a good spiritual life. It is caused by excessive self-love and a desire to be independent from God. In a sense, when we are prideful, we wish to be our own god, as powerful as the real God without any restrictions. 

In the Scriptures, there are two great examples of how pride can cause harm. The first is with Satan. He was originally named Lucifer, which means “bearer of light,” and was among the most powerful of the angels. However, he was jealous of God’s greater power and wished to be equal to the Creator. This pride caused the battle in heaven that we hear about in the Book of Revelation, when Satan and those angels who fell victim to this kind of pride were cast out of heaven. 

The second example is Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were instructed not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that grew in the middle of the garden. As the story goes, Satan appeared in the form of a serpent to tempt them. He told Eve that God didn’t want them to eat of that tree because it will make them as knowledgeable as Him. In other words, he touched on human pride. Eve, and subsequently Adam, fell victim to their own self love and the temptation to be independent of God by eating the fruit of the tree.  Their actions disrupted the entire universe, and evil entered the world. 

Although these are stories used to communicate a spiritual truth, they shows us the danger of pride. The old saying, “Pride goeth before a fall” is shown in these stories. In fact, pride is at the root of all sin. When we think too highly of ourselves, or when we decide we can do without God, we act contrary to what He commands. 

During this week, may we be attentive to our temptations to pride.