Pride—A Virtue or Sin?

By Rev. David Petersen

There is a lot of talk these days that makes pride seem like a virtue. It isn’t. It is a sin. Pride is the selfish emotion that takes credit for God’s gifts. There are some instances in which pride seems almost right, where it almost fits. Pride in one’s country or school, for instance, sounds about right. It seems like we should be proud of who we are. But that is a dirty view of reality. It is selfish and self-centered. For pride is based on the idea that we are better than others, that they owe us allegiance and service, that we have earned or deserve something, and that everyone should want to be exactly who we are. A proud man won’t back down and turn the other cheek. He’ll stand up and demand others honor him. The terrorists who went down in flames on September 11th were proud of who they were, what they were doing, what they believed, and they demanded that we take notice. They wanted to show us that they were strong and we were weak. They wanted to prove their superiority by violence. In short, they were proud. And it was ugly. It always is.

Now, surely God has blessed our country, our families, and our churches. These things are good and we receive good from them, but the devil tempts us to take credit for these things. He wants to deceive us into thinking that these good things had something to do with us. He tries to twist our focus away from God—to the gifts. He wants us to rejoice in the good things of this creation, instead of the Giving Creator. In that way, love is twisted into lust, contentment to greed and covetousness, and gratitude to pride.

We, as Americans, are prone to this temptation. We are tempted to be proud of being American and wanting others to honor us for it. But what have we done to be Americans? We didn’t think of it. We certainly didn’t earn or deserve it. For the most part, we were simply born here. We could have been born somewhere else. Instead of pride, the proper Christian response is gratitude. We are immensely thankful that God has blessed us in this way. He has made us Americans, giving us freedoms and opportunities that we did not earn. Gratitude is the constant posture of faith—the whole attitude of the believer receiving grace. It is the same for all God-given blessings, wherever they come from, whether that be through family, school, church, or country. Think of the difference between the tax collector and the Pharisee praying in the Temple (Luke 18:11-14). Who is proud, and who is the model of faith? Pride stands tall and lords over others. Faith kneels in submission to God and gratefully receives His gifts.

Consider our Lord, Jesus Christ. He was not proud. He was humble. He washed the disciples’ feet. He served them. He not only turned the other cheek, but allowed nails to be driven through His hands and feet. He did not stand up and demand honor or prestige, but lovingly gave His life as a ransom for many. We deserve to be Christians, to be the benefactors of that perfect life and death, even less than we deserve to be Americans. For we have received it not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy. And, thus, we are even more thankful.

God has delivered unto us His Word, His Body and Blood, the pure doctrine of His steadfast mercy and grace. Let us say, first, “Thank God, I am a Christian!” and secondly, “Thank God, I am an American!”

The Rev. David Petersen is pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.