Spiritual Pride

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”

If I were to ask you to list the #1 temptation that we face as human beings, most of you would probably say that it was sexual temptation. However, even though this does feature right there among the topmost temptations, the one that beats the others hand down is pride. And because it is a sin of the heart, it is easily concealed; consequently it is extremely dangerous. And a greater danger than the pride that comes in the world is spiritual pride, which very often creeps up on a person and eventually swallows him up whole. Then he becomes deaf to everything but the arrogant voice in his head that keeps puffing him up.

 

How does this happen? It usually happens when a person is able to attain a certain level of spirituality, although this is using a standard of his own making. On this scale, the person compares his level of spirituality with that of others, and he comes up top. This is either by virtue of the things he does; for instance, the number of hours he prays, or devotions he does, or church services he attends. Or by the things he has accomplished; for instance his position in a church hierarchy, or just an impressive notch of achievements.

 

So, how does one identify this sin, which as I already said is easily concealed, even from the person himself? Well, there are seven common signs. One: We indulge in fault finding. We can’t see our own failings, but we notice every fault in others. Two: We become attention seekers. We want to be recognized by others for everything we do, and feel deeply offended if we aren’t given recognition. Three: We become superficial. We are very careful not to commit sins that can be observed by others, but very lackadaisical about sins nobody can see. 

 

Four: We develop a judgmental attitude. Prideful people are often very quick to judge others and very harsh with their verdicts. There is rarely mercy shown when somebody commits a blunder. Five: We become defensive. If ever attacked, on any front, the prideful person gets very defensive, often retaliating viciously. Six: There is great presumptuousness, especially before God. Prideful people approach God almost like an equal, forgetting who he really is. So, what’s the antidote. 

 

There are many, but we find a powerful one contained in this little parable we heard today. Jesus is cautioning the spiritual leader or spiritual worker from getting puffed up because of how holy he believes he is or by how much he thinks he has accomplished. He’s saying, “Yo, buddy. Remind yourself of who you are every now and then. You are doing nothing more than a worthless slave who’s just doing what he should be doing.” And, oh; this is a seventh sign. A truly spiritual person won’t mind thinking of himself a worthless servant; the prideful person will take great offense.

 

Something for all of us to think about today, ya?

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/edkk7nsLZvQ