The Original 7 Deadly Sins + 3, Part VII - Pride

http://www.peripheralperceptions.org/2012/05/01/p-is-for-pride/

Finally!!  We saved the best for last, right?  Oh...no....wait...I forgot I told you +3...and those are still yet to be discovered....at least by you, anyway.  But, of the original 7, they say?  This be the baddest of  all.

So what about it?  What is the absolute definition of the word?  Vanity and pride are often used synonymously, but are by no means the same thing.  And is all pride a bad thing??  Nooo...no, if you're proud of the way your car looks after you detailed it for 5 hours, that's not a pride to be worried about.  If you're proud of how well your kids are doing in school, that's not really the pride we mean here.  It's when arrogance enters into your pride, that's when the problems begin.

If you're proud of the way your kids are doing in school, great.  If your kids are better than everyone else's kids, you're in need of a good head pop.  If you have pride in your country, that's ok...it's when you think you're the world power, and no one is able to take you, that's when your pride needs to be brought down a peg or 1000.

The thing to remember here is that #1 can become #100 in no time at all.  You may be the S*** of computer graphics this week, but next week there might be 1000 more just like you, and ten of those will have you beat by a mile.

Everything you do changes when arrogance enters the picture, you notice that?  When you first win the football championship, you can't hardly believe you finally did it, and you're grateful to those in your team...that you worked together, and your work paid off.  The next year, it was no surprise, we did it last year.  Then you start bragging the next year.  Then it gets old.  Then others get tired of your boasting...then people start rooting for the underdog; they almost secretly start wishing you'd lose so they don't have to put up with your attitude the rest of the year.

It all comes around, trust that.  Those who think they're irreplaceable, get replaced.  Those who're making $100,000 this year get fired the next.  Those with homes get foreclosed and are staying at the homeless shelter the year following.  And the number one biggest country in everything gets brought low when they start thinking there's no better.  We Americans are, all in all, arrogant and ignorant when we talk about ourselves.  We are some of the more guilty of all when it comes to national pride. Fame is fleeting.  Money isn't everything, and usually ends up costing you more than it helps.  Friends are fair-weathered.  We often make the mistake of thinking that quantity beats out quality, this is a real issue in today's age.  Also, holding on to your glory days is a sin all in itself.  It's hard to move on or to improve yourself, if you keep re-iterating how great you once were.

As for vanity, well, you can be proud without being vain...so that creates a bigger gap between the two words.  There can be vanity involved, sure, when we talk about your haughty pride, but vanity isn't the same thing, not by a mile, and most certainly barely covers even a quarter of pride's definition.

Humility, the exact opposite of pride, or, rather, the lack thereof, is where pride...at least the SINFUL type, enters in.  Going back to the pride in your children thing, if you say "I'm so proud of Johnny, but he couldn't have gotten to where he is without Ms. Shalin as a teacher"; you give some credit to others, therefore don't suffer from the destructive type of pride.  It's when Ms. Shalin is incidental and had no part in how well Johnny did that your pride may very well be your downfall.

Remember America, no matter how well you've done, there's always someone out there that does it better.  We may not know it as yet, but you can bet that someone's out there.  If you're good at something, someone has you beat...someplace.  If you have gorgous hair, someone has more of it with more shine.  And if you're adamant about how great you are, then watch out, because someone, albeit full of humility and graciousness, may just opt to best you, in order to bring you back down to earth with the rest of us earthworms.