Sirach 10
Pride
Don't be angry with someone for every little thing he does wrong. Don't do anything out of injured pride. Arrogance and injustice are hated by both the Lord and people. Injustice, arrogance, and wealth cause nations to fall from power, and others then rise to take their place. We are only dust and ashes; what have we got to be proud of, our body decays even while we are alive. A long illness puzzles the doctor. Even a king may be alive today and dead tomorrow. When a person dies, all he then possesses is worms, flies, and maggots.
Pride has its beginning when a person abandons the Lord, his maker. Pride is like a fountain pouring out sin, and whoever persists in it will be full of wickedness. That is why the Lord brought terrible punishments on some people and completely destroyed them. The Lord has overthrown kings and put humbler people in their place. The Lord has pulled up nations by the roots and established humbler ones in their place. The Lord has overthrown empires and completely devastated their lands. He destroyed some so completely that they are not even remembered any more. The Creator never intended for human beings to be arrogant and violent.
“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. 'Good pride' represents our dignity and self-respect. Pride to me means accepting who you are and being proud of all you stand for. Regardless of what you believe or think, nobody should be able to make you feel ashamed of who you are or what you stand for. To me pride is saying to the world, “this is who I am and I'm proud of it.” 'Bad pride' is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance, which goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like.
Reminds me of an incident..in an inebriated state an argument broke out among three egoistic men on a trivial issue, which took such an ugly turn by one of the proud men hurling uncalled for abuses at the other. The one who thought he was fighting for a just cause apologized, second one who had started the argument became a Saint but the third ever arrogant and proud one found it difficult to reconcile. Few months later, another argument..now with his own family and their offspring walked out of the house in the middle of the night. Even after several apologies, they have not been able to mend matters because his pride is bigger than his heart and his ego is bigger than his head, which has made him lonely.
Roy T. Bennett,
Good night friends 😇
