Recognizing Pride in Personal Struggles

Pride, in a theological context, is often understood as an inordinate desire for one's own excellence, a concept that Aquinas links to the irascible faculty of the soul ^[4]. It is a fundamental human failing that can manifest in various ways, often hindering self-awareness and spiritual growth.

One of the primary ways pride is recognized in personal struggles is through its opposition to humility and its tendency to blind individuals to their own faults. Wise individuals acknowledge their weaknesses, but pride prevents people from seeing their shortcomings ^[5]. This self-deception can lead to a refusal to admit error or to seek correction. The book of Proverbs frequently warns against pride, stating that "When pride comes, then comes shame" (Proverbs 11:2) ^[12] and that "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18) ^[7]. Matthew Henry notes that those with a haughty spirit, who think too highly of themselves and look down on others, will ultimately be humbled, either through repentance or ruin ^[7].

Pride is also a significant source of contention and strife. It makes individuals impatient with contradiction, competition, or anything that appears to be a slight ^[6]. Calvin identifies ambition, a form of pride, as the "bellows that kindles up all strifes," suggesting that humility is the necessary remedy for such dissensions ^[9]. The psalmist observes that "pride is like a chain around their neck" (Psalm 73:6), indicating its burdensome and restrictive nature ^[1].

In the patristic tradition, Augustine considered pride to be the "commencement of every sin" ^[11]. He argued that every sin involves a contempt of God, which is inherently an act of pride ^[11]. Augustine also distinguished between two forms of humiliation: one where a person humbles themselves by confessing sins and not claiming righteousness, and another where a person is humbled by tribulation or mortification as a consequence of their pride ^[10]. This suggests that while self-humiliation is a path to grace, God also actively resists the proud and brings them low ^[10].

The struggle with pride can also be seen in the reluctance to endure suffering or injustice. While 1 Peter 2:19 commends enduring pain unjustly out of conscience toward God ^[2], pride might lead one to resist such suffering, viewing it as an affront to one's dignity or status. Conversely, some biblical figures, like Paul, found a way to boast in their infirmities, recognizing that weakness could highlight God's strength (2 Corinthians 11:30) ^[3].

Rabbinic thought, as articulated by Maimonides, suggests a path to counter pride through intentional self-correction. A pious person carefully examines their behavior and may even deviate slightly from the mean to compensate for potential errors in judgment, sometimes forcing themselves to adopt an opposite extreme to refine their character ^[8]. This approach highlights a proactive struggle against pride by consciously cultivating humility and self-awareness.

Sources

Psalms “Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment. -- Psalms 73:6”
1 Peter “For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God. -- 1 Peter 2:19”
II Corinthians “II Corinthians 11:30 (Darby) — If it is needful to boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Pride, Art. 3: Article: Whether the subject of pride is the irascible faculty? I answer that, The subject of any virtue or vice is to be ascertained from its proper object: for the object of a habit or act cannot be other than the object of the power, which is the subject of both. Now the proper object of pride is something difficult, for pride is the desire of one's own excellence, as stated above (Articles [1],2). Wherefore pride must needs pertain in some way to the irascible faculty. Now the irascible may be t”
Proverbs (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Proverbs 20:9: 20:9 Wise people recognize their own weaknesses. Pride prohibits people from seeing their faults (6:17-18; 11:2; 13:10; 15:33; 16:18; 18:12; see also 1 Jn 1:8-10).”
Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 13:10: Note, 1. Foolish pride is the great make-bate. Would you know whence come wars and fightings? They come from this root of bitterness. Whatever hand other lusts may have in contention (passion, envy, covetousness), pride has the great hand; it is its pride that it will itself sow discord and needs no help. Pride makes men impatient of contradiction in either their opinions or their desires, impatient of competition and rivalship, impatient of contempt, or any thing that looks like a slight, and impatient of concession, and receding, from a conceit of certain rig”
Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 16:18: Note, 1. Pride will have a fall. Those that are of a haughty spirit, that think of themselves above what is meet, and look with contempt upon others, that with their pride affront God and disquiet others, will be brought down, either by repentance or by ruin. It is the honour of God to humble the proud, Job 40:11, Job 40:12. It is the act of justice that those who have lifted up themselves should be laid low. Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, were instances of this. Men cannot punish pride, but either admire it or fear it, and therefore God will take the pu”
Mishneh Torah (Maimonides) (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah%2C Human Dispositions 1:5: A person who carefully [examines] his [behavior], 1 in an effort to achieve the desired intermediate path and therefore deviates slightly from the mean 2 to compensate for a possible error in calculating that mean. to either side is called pious. 3 In Shemonah Perakim , Chapter 4, the Rambam explains that one can refine and correct his behavior by balancing a tendency for excess in one direction by intentionally forcing oneself to adopt the opposite extreme. (See Chapter 2, Halachah 2.) He continues: Therefore, the pious did ”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, section 10.4: only way of guarding against dissensions is — when we avoid strifes by deliberating and acting peacefully, especially if we are not actuated by ambition. For ambition is a means of fanning all strifes. 100 100 “ Est le sufflet qui allume toutes contentions ;” — “Is the bellows that kindles up all strifes.” Vain-glory means any glorying in the flesh; for what ground of glorying have men in themselves that is not vanity? But by humility. For both diseases he brings forward one remedy — humility , and with good reason”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM CXIX.(2) (part 20): saith: "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."(6) Whence also our Lord Himself saith with His own lips, "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."(7) We well understand here that humiliation also, not whereby each man humbleth himself by confessing his sins, and by not arrogating righteousness to himself; but when each man is humbled by some tribulation or mortification which his pride deserved; or when he is exercised and proved by endurance;(8) ”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 33 [XXIX.] -- NOT EVERY SIN IS PRIDE. HOW PRIDE IS THE COMMENCEMENT OF EVERY SIN.: "But how," asks he, "shall we separate pride itself from sin?" Now, why does he raise such a question, when it is manifest that even pride itself is a sin? "To sin," says he, "is quite as much to be proud, as to be proud is to sin; for only ask what every sin is, and see whether you can find any sin without the designation of pride." Then he thus pursues this opinion, and endear-ours to prove it thus: "Every sin," says he, "if I mistake not, is a contempt of God, a”
Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 11:2: Observe, 1. How he that exalts himself is here abased, and contempt put upon him. When pride comes then comes shame. Pride is a sin which men have reason to be themselves ashamed of; it is a shame to a man who springs out of the earth, who lives upon alms, depends upon God, and has forfeited all he has, to be proud. It is a sin which others cry out shame on and look upon with disdain; he that is haughty makes himself contemptible; it is a sin for which God often brings men down, as he did Nebuchadnezzar and Herod, whose ignominy immediately attended their vain-g”

Ask Your Own Question