Pride : The Enemy 's Devices

Pride is a person’s overwhelming sense that they are superior to others and have no conscience about it.  Pride is a high satisfaction with one’s own self and a feeling of superiority which can lead to a arrogant attitude. These people often take without thought or care about others or the consequences of their actions.  A person that is full of pride needs nothing from anyone and is a self-contained, self-sufficient person and often breeds a snobbish persona.  That pride is an egotistic pride that is full of vanity in one’s own abilities or achievements.  God resists such people because they don’t feel they need anyone and that anyone includes God.

When people hear the word pride, it’s usually not referred to being positive. Like the need for materialistic objects and a thirst for revenge, pride comes to us instinctively. Saint Augustine says, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” This quote states that having an unnecessary amount of pride can transform us into beings that we shouldn’t be; turn us into these monsters that others refuse to be around, but having a sense of humbleness can better us in both our perspective of ourselves and others. Whether we are afraid of being wrong and admitting our mistakes or eager to claim credit for the satisfaction of feeling like we’ve accomplished something, pride has the tendency to take over our

Pride is a very common attribute in people that compare to different degrees. Some people have a large ego (a lot of pride and confidence) or a small ego. A dictionary defines “pride” as a feeling of self-respect and personal worth. This topic of pride is shown in certain characters that are in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Characters such as John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Reverend Hale show their pride- John Proctor has his pride to overlook reality and truth, Elizabeth has her pride so as she doesn’t want to forgive her husband for committing adultery, and Reverend Hale uses his pride as he can detect people guilty of practicing witchcraft. These three characters show in the plat that too much pride can and will lead to a person’s demise in the very future without finding a way to control your pride.

Pride has many benefits and many downfalls. Many qualities of pride can be beneficial, to be proud of family or friends can be uplifting and can form strong bonds. But pride can also mask genuine human emotions; stop those who feel pride from showing vulnerability, or weakness. The qualities of pride itself can be complex and inconceivable, like many human qualities. Each particular emotion has diverse and opposite effects, pride for example can be a word used to describe utter happiness and fulfillment, while others can use pride to close themselves off. In the book Stone Angel, written by the well known author Margaret Laurence, pride is often portrayed as a negative quality. It is used as a shield, a protection from pain and loss. When

Pride is felt or expressed on a continuum, so it can manifest in various ways. It can be a healthy way to feel about personal achievements, connections to a social group, or a display of arrogance and boastfulness. Personally, no sort of pride is a familiar feeling, especially not the latter.

Although pride could be a good characteristic, there are often instances where as one might feel as if they cannot show their emotions. With that being said, this means fear has now entered in to where emotions cannot be shown through one’s good spirit. Having too much pride can dominate how the reaction is in an important situation. Gilb’s reading gives a great example of how pride can take over one’s emotions. “He holds it back, and with his hands, hides the tears that do escape, wipes them with his fingers, because the chavailtos in his isle are playing and laughing and they are so small and he is so big next to them.” Sensitivity and fear can come in tie with pride and have a negative effect on another human’s feelings and reactions.

When one hears the word “pride”, one would rarely imagine a modest person who devotes their time to volunteer work and philanthropy. Typically, one would picture an arrogant politician or a movie star, a person so self-absorbed that they almost entirely ignore the needs of those around them. However, even the humblest acts of virtue can arise from pride as well. The story of Icarus, the boy who became entranced with his own pride and flew too close to the sun, is told time and time again; however, there is another story of pride one hears less often, the person who takes pride in their own humility. Rather than take pride in typical attributes such as wealth, prestige, or even appearance, these people take pride in their modesty and virtue. In this way, pride comes from an unexpected source and is “difficult to avoid since it takes occasion even from good deeds” (Aquinas 7). While the other six deadly sins present both helpful and harmful characteristics of the sin, pride is complex in corrupting even the most well-intentioned actions.

Greed For Good: The Positive Side Of The Seven Deadly Sins defines pride as “is that dangerous desire to be more important than everyone else around you to the point that you disregard their accomplishments and harbor excessive love for one person and one person alone: yourself.” This definition really highlights the dark and sinful side of pride, and this

Pride is a trait found in a hubris person, who believes they are superior to others. Lucifer from the Christianity faith exhibited a hubris persona. Considered the highest regarded angel in heaven, he thought he knew everything therefore attempted to succeed against God and humiliatingly lost. If Lucifer had never been prideful of his accomplishment and was aware of his limitations, it would have obviated his humiliation. Self-awareness of one’s own lack of knowledge would cease boasting, an augury of pride.

The noose of pride wraps around every human being’s neck. Pride strips us of ability to breathe, to struggle, and do anything to give up and succumb to our death. In the myth, the maiden Arachne challenged Athene. Arachne’s despair after failing proves that no one can let go of pride, and it’s even harder to make let go of us.

The sin of pride is considered to be the sin of all sins, for it has was the sin of pride that led Lucifer out of heaven and also caused Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Pride’s been defined as a feeling of satisfaction in an achievement or an accomplishment of one’s self. Other word for that define the sin of pride are conceited and egotistical. This sin has always been present in the world since day and will continue to last until Jesus’ second coming. Pride reveals itself in people’s lives and can infect the hearts and minds of all people. Pride is one of the flaws of the the human race, and it affects each and every person and also the they live world.

Pride vs. Humility is one of the biggest battles that rages inside us as humans. In his book Humility: True Greatness C.J Mahaney discusses humility and what it means to possess it, and how God feels about pride. He stated that God’s hatred for pride is pure and his hatred is holy (Mahaney, 2005). Pride is not an issue that we should take lightly, but it is one that when not taken care of can overtake our lives. Luckily, Christ’s death can and will redeem our pride-drenched hearts. Although God hates pride he loves us and seeks to give us full redemption from the pain that we inflict upon ourselves. In this book Mahaney gives the reader practical examples of how to live out humility in the morning, evening, and in all moments as we go throughout

The definition of pride throws up two concepts; the idea of a ‘negative’ pride and the idea of a ‘positive’ pride. This ‘negative’ pride is defined as ‘the consciousness of one’s own dignity’, which is expanded upon as ‘the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance’. ‘Positive’ pride is ‘a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of one’s close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired’. Throughout the novel the idea of pride is a constant presence shown through the actions, attitudes, and judgements of the characters, with both negative and positive pride being explored. In chapter five Mary states that pride is something

Pride is a virus in the human heart. There are three types of pride demolishing many people; pride towards god, towards the prophets and messengers, and pride towards people. Pride is when someone is deeply satisfied with what they have been blessed with to an extent where they forget the real reason they were sent down to this Earth. Being prideful is just like following Satan because he was the prideful one towards Adam (AS). Pride towards God is the most despicable and the most dangerous level of pride. It is available in unbelievers and the individuals who challenge God 's power. Moreover, Pride to Prophets and messengers is when a man neglects to think about the way of prophethood and in this manner feels pride with himself and does not obey prophets and disbelieves in their stories. Finally, pride towards people is when a proud man sees himself as a better person because of what he has and wants than to see everyone humbled before him. These are the three attributes of a prideful person which are of the major sins that Allah (SWT) warned us about.

Now pride comes in various shapes and instance for everyone, but they can all have a common source. Some of the most common things I and possibly others have a connection to are sports, work, people and possibly sexual orientation. Though there are so many different possibilities or interconnecting occurrences within these topics, that I could feel pride. Some are more prideful in one instance than another, but it does not take away from any lesser situation either. With these only being a handful of prideful occurrences, as there are too many to name.