7 Deadly Sins: Pride

The first on the standard list of the Seven Deadly Sins is Pride. It is considered by some to be the Mother of all Sins. Because out of it comes all the other Deadly Sins.

Pride tells us, we deserve something because of who we are. It tells us we deserve the thing we lust after, we deserve to be greedy just this once, we deserve to be angry, and etc.

The Word Pride

Pride is a complex word as it has many meanings in Modern English. It can be anything from self-respect, arrogance, being in one’s prime and even a collective noun of lions.

In Old English, the original meaning of pride comes from prȳde which means 'excessive self-esteem'. This is the traditional meaning, and over time, it has attracted the other meanings too.

What Does Pride Mean in the Bible?

The Old Testament views pride as bad. Looking at the Book of Proverbs alone, we read:

• Wisdom hates pride (Pro 8 v 13)

• Pride leads to disgrace (Pro 11 v 2)

• A fool speaks with pride (Pro 14 v 3)

• Pride goes before destruction (Pro 16 v 8)

• A prideful heart produces sin (Pro 21 v 4)

• A proud person behaves with insolent fury. (Pro 21 v 24)

• Pride brings a person to humiliation (Pro 29 v 23)

In the New Testament, Jesus doesn’t mention pride. But Paul mentions it several times. Though when he says it, he means it to be boasting in, rather than pride in the sense of the Old English and the Old Testament meaning.

I would see this as Paul encouraging good behaviour, rather than talking about sin.

Lucifer and Pride

Pride, on the other hand, is the mother of all sins and the original sin of Lucifer. An instrument strung but preferring to play itself because it thinks it knows the tune better than the musician.

C.S. Lewis

Ezekiel 28 v 11 - 19

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God…

Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth…

From the quotes by CS Lewis and the prophet Ezekiel, we see the Devil’s sin was pride.

In the Old English tale of this event, Lucifer desires to have his own throne, where he can rule. Somewhere north of Heaven, and ‘by north’, the poet means ruling above God.

Genesis A+B

There pain touched them, envy and pride, and the heart of those angels that first performed that evil advice, to weave and arouse, then Lucifer spoke a word, thirsting for trouble, wishing to possess a home and high-throne in the northern part of the realm of heaven.

Pride, in the context of Lucifer’s fall, is self-worship. It is more than simply being happy with a piece of work you’ve completed or telling someone you are very pleased with them. It is literally placing yourself above all things, above everyone else and even above God. A pride-filled person places themselves at the top of the hierarchy of their lives.

And if they place themselves first, they cannot engage with anything above them, not even God. They become the nexus of their own worship and expect all to bow down to them.

Whereas Christ is the Light of the World, ‘pride is the light of the wicked’. By denigrating Christ from His true position, they will stumble in the dark. In their darkness, they turn their backs on unacceptable truths and despise wisdom.

And because of pride, they believe they cannot be wrong and therefore refuse to ask for help. Even help from God.

The antidote to pride is humility. Something our Western culture has lost.