PRIDE
Sin: I think we can all benefit from thinking about sin, even if we don't believe in a supreme being, even if we don't accept notions of divine punishment, of heaven and hell. The concept of sin is usually thought to be a religious concept, the deliberate violation of the will of God. I want to think of sin without religious references, with regard to a broader definition. I want to examine sin in the sense of personal failure, of the harm we can do to ourselves. In this sense, sin will still include violation of rules but not necessarily rules imposed by religion. I want to examine sin as violation of rules of good conduct, violation of rules which are designed to make our lives better. Of course sin will often include harm to others but I urge that the harm we do to others by our conduct is usually exceeded by the harm we do to ourselves.
I recently revisited some books about the seven deadly sins, especially Henry Fairlie's The Seven Deadly Sins Today. We all know the seven deadly sins: If not religious, we know the popular songs or pop groups referring to the deadly sins. The seven deadly sins are pride, avarice, luxury, envy, appetite, anger and sloth. The list of seven deadly sins is a good list of things to avoid if we want to be happier and lead better lives. We don't need to be religious to see the value in not hurting ourselves and others. So I've decided occasionally to write about these sins and also, in contrast, about the classic virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, justice, faith, hope and love.
The sin of pride is difficult for me because I so often encourage pride, encourage others to be proud of their work, their good deeds, their art, their talent. Am I encouraging sin? I don't think so. The sin of pride is a false, arrogant claim to success, not pride in real accomplishment, not self-respect derived from doing one's best at some pursuit. The sin of pride is the sin of excessive self-love, of claiming more than our due, of looking to ourselves to the exclusion of others, the false claim to reward. To avoid the sin of pride is simply to think of others, to respect the claims of others, to look outward.
I would rather write about what I consider the virtue of pride. When I encourage pride, I'm speaking of the satisfaction of a job well-done, in trying to do right. in doing one's best, in treating others with kindness and respect. We should take pride when we cheer someone up, when we help someone to do a better job or complete a personal project, when we assist in someone's education, when we act courteously and kindly. This is not sin, this is the appropriate self-respect derived from trying to be a good person. It's only when this self-respect becomes excessive, when self-respect causes us to ignore others, to invoke other faults such as greed and envy, that we become guilty of the sin of pride.
Perhaps the answer lies in the goal of service to others. As long as we look outward, as long as we try to help others, to be a better person, we can take legitimate pride in our conduct. As long as we don't become self-absorbed, we will avoid the sin of pride.
5-1-00
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