Pride

 

   “Place your hope in God alone.  If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.” (Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 4) 

   Our society is sick with pride.  We teach our children to be proud of themselves in all things, even in their failures.  Adults are proud of their house, their car, their position at work, and the money they make.  Athletes are proud of their abilities and those in politics and the entertainment industry are perhaps the proudest of all.  There are more and more award shows, trophies, and forms of recognition than ever before.  All to satisfy our pride.

   St. Benedict reminds us that any good we have within us is from God not ourselves.  Our abilities are God-given and we need to acknowledge that fact.  Our pride says, “I did it, I’m a good person”, and so we may be.  But if so, it is only by the grace of God.

   The evil we do is our own for God does not create evil.  Satan is the source of evil and the evil we do comes from our weakness and our failure to resist his temptations.  Yet even in our failings God still blesses us in so many ways.  He never gives up on us as long as there is still a chance of repentance and turning to Him for mercy and forgiveness.

   We are not to take pride in the good we do but give credit to God.  We are not to blame God for the evil we do but hold ourselves accountable for our weakness. 

You are all good.

There is no evil in You.

Any good we might do is from You.

Any evil we commit is from our weakness.

Amen