Special Catholica Series: The Seven Deadlies

SPECIAL SERIES: The Seven Deadly Sins

7. PRIDE

Wherever the lists of sins appear, Pride seems to take 'pride-of-place' as the original and most serious sin. The Wikipedia definition is 'a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God).'

According to deadlysins.com, 'Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise.'

Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologiae, says of pride 'inordinate self-love is the cause of every sin (1.77) … the root of pride is found to consist in man not being, in some way subject to God and God's rule.'

And to take a not too fine a point on it, The Travelers Guide to Hell (I didn't know there was one!) says that Pride is ruled by the celestial sign of the Sun. It is 'the mother of all sins … the thin line between righteousness and self-righteousness'.

Following in this theme 'The Seven Deadly Sins: A Convenient Guide to Eternal Damnation' reveals the medieval and early Renaissance Christian model of sin. Actually there appears to be over a dozen such models but one of the most popular is the division of the Seven Sins into three spiritual and four corporal sins. And you guessed it — Pride heads the list of the spiritual sins. But all is not lost, Prudentius in 410CE in his allegorical poem Psychomachia (The Battle for the Soul) outlines counterfoils or 'cures' to these sins and for pride the 'cure' is humility.

A few years ago a range of icecreams were released on the theme of the seven deadly sins and the Pride icecream was the outstanding best seller in Australia. This dubious honour is much more likely related to the delicious flavour than any reflection on an Australian predilection for pride.

In the First Testament or Hebrew Scriptures is the story of the people of God. It is a story of a people who are conquered and oppressed, exiled and persecuted and it is a story of God with them in their journey. Pride features strongly as the sin of the oppressors. The faith and hope of the people is in a God who will bring down these oppressors and conquerors, who will be the victory of the people, who will bring new life and hope to their suffering and despair.

In the Second Testament, the references to pride are few yet humility is a strong presence. In the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) the theme of the first shall be last and the last will be first is a tenet of discipleship. John's gospel reveals a discipleship of love where pride would have no place. The ultimate gift of Jesus' life is the most profound picture of humility.

Today we are besieged by 'winning', 'success', 'image' and 'lifestyle'. I think this is a seduction to give into our pride and become seriously self-centred about how we look, how we live, where we live, what schools we go to and what work we do, where we go on holidays etc. As we buy into this we can imagine we are in control of our lives. So we are busy climbing the corporate ladder, being seen in the right places with the right people, driving the right car, taking our kids to the right schools, rushing off to gym at the crack of dawn or in the evening. And seemingly there is no end to this as our successes gain us more importance and power.

And what does this cost? It costs us time with the people who are important to us and it costs us time with God.

It seems to me that pride is when we get our relationships off beam. How often do we see families, communities, nations divided because of pride? When we get caught up in ourselves, when holding our place or view is more important than anything else then we have lost sight of God.

Where there is pride the ego has the upper hand. How can we discover the depth of God's love when we are caught up in ourselves? Pride blinds us to the other, disables our ability to walk in another's shoes, limits our generosity, and stifles our love.

Some of the most sacred and intimate moments of encounter with the love of God come as we face death or disaster and we are jolted from any sense of our own capabilities. Our pride breaks down and we discover true humility. We become painfully aware of our human inadequacy, our uselessness, our helplessness, our vulnerability. There is where there is space for God to break through with love. And love is all that matters.

I was awakened to another slant on pride in today's world as I read The Review in The Advertiser Newspaper yesterday. 'Young, bright and ready to blow herself to pieces' by Kevin Toolis is a moving story of female suicide bombers in Palestine. Is the matter of becoming a martyr a result of pride? It is certainly a matter of honour ie the honour-shame of the Middle East. Toolis suggests that most of the female suicide bombers are not necessarily acting out of political endeavour but to escape the social codes which oppress them. They are lured by the images of a better life in paradise with God, 'All the martyrs are alive with God, eating, drinking and enjoying the virgin beauties. There is no difference between men and women.' They are honoured as 'virgin queens' and poems and posters and a video are produced.

Whether this is directly or indirectly related to pride it seems insidious sin in our world. It is so destructive of life and not just for the suicide bomber but the innocents who are targeted. And for those who do not succeed in their suicide attempt there is a jail known as the 'Living Tomb'. Of course the question also rises of whose sin? Whose pride? Is it the war mongers, the militants, the individuals who decide for this action?

Rosemary Canavan lives in Adelaide. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts major in Psychology and two Bachelors degrees in Theology, the most recent an Honours degree in New Testament studies. She has two adult children. Rosemary has an excellent track record of published articles for Church publications including the Adelaide diocesan newspaper, Southern Cross.

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