Our language has had a seismic shift when it comes to the word "pride". The connotations of the word are now seeped in positive light. We might say things like "I'm proud of you!" or "He's my pride and joy!" or "She beamed with pride!" All of these are certainly positive things. However, with the change in our language, we run the risk of losing our grasp of something key. These are the great number of problems that the sin of pride can cause.
Why is pride problematic? Or perhaps, the word problematic is too weak. After all, in the Catholic tradition, pride is considered to be the worst of the seven deadly sins. A friend of mine posted a thought-provoking post a few weeks ago about the dangers to one's own soul from the sin of pride. It described things that pride might rob one from, such as not learning a lesson from an unfortunate circumstance we've gone through or not repairing a relationship because we keep a chip on our shoulder. There are many ways that we can injure ourselves through the sin of pride, but they are just a drop in the bucket to ways we can injure others through the sin of pride.
So, at its root, the sin of pride is about disordered thinking. Locked into a comparison with others, we assert that our needs or wants circumvent theirs. Of course, how much of an impact this disordered thinking has depends on the end result. On the mild end of the spectrum, a kid might hog more than one's fair share of the halloween candy. On the serious end of the spectrum, a sexual predator decides fulfilling his desires are more important than the victim's needs not to be attacked. Most if not all major sins have the sin of pride at the core.
It can be normal and natural to want to advance our own cause, but we as a society instinctively recognize that when we violate the rules of fair play, we have crossed a line. That line is important, because it allows us to have a just society (or at least to aim towards a just society, since this is rarely perfected). We can sniff out a cheat, chew people out who jump the line, and we will cheer for the underdog in a movie who follows the rules even though it means he comes out behind.
If I, as an ordinary person, stumble and succumb to the sin of pride, it is likely that the impact would be somewhat mild. No matter how prideful most ordinary citizens are, they have a limited number of resources to advance themselves. Face it, we ordinary folks have a limited amount of power.
As I write this, Ukraine is being invaded by Russia. This act weighs on most people's minds these days regardless of how close the impact is. Disordered thinking, or the sin of pride, if you prefer, has coupled with power to convince key Russian leaders that 1. it is permissible to advance Russian's interests beyond the Ukraine's needs to continue to live a life not torn by violence AND 2. that Russian powers are great enough that they may be successful.
So, as you can see, the sin of pride and the disordered thinking it generates can couple with power to create war. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that is as old as humanity.
It is devastating to realize how quickly destructive power can tear a hole in a country and how difficult and time-consuming the rebuilding process is. As our local priest described it today, it can take but a moment to launch a missile and years to rebuild the apartment complex it destroys. A man can be shot in a second, while it took him 53 years to develop to this point. An act of rape takes only a few minutes to perpetrate; the recovery of the victim can take decades or more.
This cannot be the final word, however. Destructive forces are powerful, but they aren't as powerful as life-giving forces. We can shoot a man in war, but we can't take the same dead man and breathe new life into him. And because we are called for good, we yearn for better. Right now, many ordinary people in Russia are bravely standing up to those decision makers against this war at great personal risk.
We can't live and love and thrive in a world that is beset by destructive forces. Destruction ultimately wears itself out. We see this same pattern play out in the Resurrection of Christ. Christ was killed during his crucifixion, but death did not have the final say. It may seem like peace isn't powerful, but it truly is. No matter where we live, our hearts are made for life-building. We all yearn for justice; we want to build a thriving, fruitful society. I join others in the world who raise their weary voices in prayers for peace. May those voices rise until they drown out the ones calling for destruction.
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