Written by Richelle Thompson
Psalm 75:4-5 (NRSV) I will say to the boasters, “Boast no more,” and to the wicked, “Do not toss your horns; Do not toss your horns so high, nor speak with a proud neck.”
Of the many opportunities for sin, pride may be the most tempting. Several of the scripture passages in this particular season of the lectionary talk of the danger of pride. Great literature casts pride as both Achilles’ heel and Icarus’ wings—a kind of weakness that fells even the seemingly invincible. Satan is blinded by his pride in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Dr. Frankenstein creates his monster out of his prideful conviction that he can supersede the laws of nature. Snow White’s wicked stepmother falls prey to her own pride and desire to be the “fairest of them all.”
Is pride always sinful? I hope not. Many of us express pride in our children, the accomplishments of our partners, the good work of our colleagues. Perhaps taking joy in a job well done is different than the pride scripture warns against, and the danger comes when pride swells to hubris, when we think we have all the answers, when we come to see ourselves as the savior, the fairest of all, and not Jesus.
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