Pride and Humility
God is totally obsessed with our happiness. The only thing that can ruin happiness is sin. Now, all sin comes from seven roots, the Seven Deadly sins: vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony, and lust. To work for happiness we should identify our vices and take on the opposite virtues. We are beginning a short series on the Seven Deadly Sins and their conquering virtues so we can pursue happiness together. But at the root of all sin, the tap root of every bad thought, word, or action is pride. It is easier to understand pride if we begin with humility.
One
Humility
Jesus gave Catherine of Siena two principles to guide her life. The first was this, “Catherine, I am He who is and you are she who is not. I am God and you are not God.” And the second was, “Catherine, trust in Divine Providence. Because I am God, you can trust me in all things and rely on me in all things. I did not leave you alone to rely on yourself. Therefore, trust in My Divine Providence that works all things for your good.”
A person with humility lives by these two truths: First, God is God. He created everything, rules everything, and can do everything. He created the moral law and He governs all things for good for those who cooperate with Him. I am not God. I did not create the world or myself or the moral law. He did. He controls all things, not me.
Second, I can trust in Divine Providence. I can trust His moral law will result in happiness and I can trust that He is watching over everything that happens in my life so that He works all things for my good if I cooperate with Him.
Two
Pride
Pride is at the root of every sin. Pride is all the ways we try to act like God: Refusing to recognize and submit to His divine authority, creating and adhering to personal moral standards contrary to the moral law established by God, and trying to control all things
Pride is the reason we have such a hard time accepting what we did not choose, do not like, and cannot change. Pride is why we have such a hard time trusting God. Because instead of trusting in God we are trying to take the place of God.
Three
Blown Plans
A few weeks ago, we celebrated the Feast of Epiphany when the Wise Men came to worship Jesus and Herod sent out his soldiers to kill all the baby boys in the region of Bethlehem in the attempt to kill Jesus. That is when the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.” So, Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt.
Wow, talk about having your plans blown. Joseph and Mary had a home, a business, family and friends, safety and security in Nazareth and now they must fly as refugees to Egypt with only that which they can carry. I haven’t been chased by a king who is a paranoid psychopathic murderer, but I have had my plans blown and I usually do not react well. Normally I react with fear, anger, and anxiety because things are out of my control and not going the way I planned. I react with pride.
Please do not misunderstand. We must be responsible, make plans, take action, and follow through. But we take this too far. We try to control all things. That is pride. The amount of pride we suffer from is brought to light by how we respond to canceled flights, sickness, people, events, or circumstances we can’t control. Pride really rears its ugly head when we face things we did not choose, do not like, and cannot change.
Four
Trust in Providence
The antidote to pride is humility and trust in Divine Providence.
Matthew does not tell us what Joseph and Mary thought or felt when they were told to take their baby and run for their lives in the middle of the night. But since Mary never sinned and Scripture tells us Joseph was a just man, we can assume they didn’t waste any emotional energy on anxiety, sinful anger, or despair.
Instead, they acted with humility and trust. They knew that God was in control, not Herod. They knew God in His Providence was guiding all these events. And if God had allowed this, well then it was for the best, and their job was to trust and follow the directions of the angels.
We on the other hand suffer so much from fear, worry, anxiety, and anger. We waste so much emotional energy and cause so many bigger problems because we make our plans and when people or circumstances change our plans or ruin our plans, we lose our head, we try to take control and make things happen the way we want, and we end up making a bigger mess.
Not Mary and Joseph. They gave no emotional energy to fear, worry, anxiety or sinful anger. They were humble. God is God, He’s got everything under control. And they trusted Providence. They went to Egypt to live. And God worked out everything perfectly. Because that is what God does if we don’t fight him with pride and trust Him in humility.
By the way, who do you think inspired the Wise Men to bring those expensive gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh to give to the Holy Family? Gifts that could be sold and provided for them in exile. God had everything worked out ahead of time for the Holy Family. God has everything worked out ahead of time for you. Trust Him.
Five
Resolution
Pride is all our efforts to be God. Humility is to remember two things: I am not God. I am his child. I can trust my Father in all things. All I must do is do what He commands and accept what He allows to happen in my life. Because He works all things for good for those who love Him.
So what is our resolution? Three things: Give no emotional energy to worry, anxiety, and sinful anger. Be humble, trust that no matter what happens, no matter what steps or missteps I take or others take, God will see everything to the best conclusion. Even our mistakes and sins when surrendered to God are used to bring about a good greater than what would have occurred without them. Humility and trust in Divine Providence are the antidote to pride, anxiety, sinful anger, and making a mess out of life.