Pride

Pride has always been someone else’s sin, not mine. I didn’t grow up with much excess and I didn’t have many opportunities, so I wasn’t concerned about pride. I could see it in others, and I would silently think “whew, they need to work on that. I’m glad that’s not me.” It wasn’t until I was much older before I developed a friendship with someone who had a deep interest in actually studying the gospel, that I started to hear about pride in a different light. This friend told me they thought pride was at the root of all sins. What? How is that? I thought pride was the rich who looked down on others. My friend recommended I read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson entitled, “Beware of Pride.”

I read it and was opened to a whole new perspective that I had never thought about. In his talk President Benson states, “The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ‘hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.’ It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.” I began to see that any time I sinned I was placing enmity between god and I, therefore my sins must be rooted in pride. He also states, “Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of ‘my will and not thine be done.’ As Paul said, they ‘seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.’ (Philip. 2:21)…. The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.)They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.” This was, as Oprah says, an “ah ha” moment for me. Anytime I don’t follow the Lord, I am pitting my will against His. How incredibly foolish of me considering He knows all and will lead me correctly in all things.

“Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42 .) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.” Who hasn’t committed the sin of gossiping, murmuring, faultfinding, etc.? No wonder President Benson titled his talk Beware of Pride. This is a problem in all of us, and like me, I have found that many don’t realize they are guilty of it.

At the end of the day, my greatest desire is to be at one with my Father in Heaven. If pride causes me to have enmity toward my Father then it is the antidote to pride, humility, that I need to be striving for. Although my perspective has changed and I am better able to spot pride in myself, it is still a regular struggle to continue to keep myself humble. But being in unity with my Savior and Father is worth it.