The healing power of humility when pride wounds the soul

"Pride goeth before a fall."

-- Proverbs 16:18

The Book of Proverbs is part of the Wisdom writing of the Hebrew Scriptures. Its counsel, like that of similar books of the Old Testament, is that pride can be debilitating and sometimes fatal for human beings.

As an heir to this tradition, Jesus of Nazareth also taught about the dangers of pride as he extolled the gift and virtue of humility. His life and ministry were models of humble service and love. From his perspective, pride wounded the soul, while humility nourished it.

Now please understand, the warning against pride is not an invitation to deny our worth, goodness or value as human beings. Neurotic self-denial or self-deprecation is not what is being recommended here.

We are creatures of infinite value and worth, because we have been created by God. All of us have gifts and deserve regard and respect. Pride, as Scripture presents it, is essentially something that puts us in the place where God should be.

It seeks to dominate the world and others. It destroys our flexibility and capacity for relationship.

Pride does go before a fall. I recently read the commentary by a highly regarded expert on man-made disasters about the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the fellow called in when something goes terribly wrong. He admits that there is human error and mistakes.

But he suggests that if you scratch the surface of most human-generated disasters, you find something else at play: pride, arrogance, and indolence.

It's good to remind ourselves of that when we look at the recent crisis in the Gulf or observe the fifth anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Yes, a hurricane is a natural disaster to be sure, but considering the improperly constructed levees and the inadequate government response - well, pride goes before a fall.

The same is true in human life. Pride, not self-respect, self-esteem, or self-worth can precede a terrible fall. It keeps us from forgiving others or asking for forgiveness.

It creates the myth that we are superior rather than allowing us to be connected to and in relationship with other human beings. It prompts us to hoard things and create illusions of grandeur. The results of pride are delusion, isolation and brokenness.

The wisdom of the Hebrew Scriptures and of the teaching of Jesus offers something much, much more life-giving: the virtue of humility. Humility is built on the recognition that we are beloved children and creatures of God, and that we can depend on the One who has made us and is with us.

It gives us the flexibility of not having to be right all the time or superior to everyone else. It opens the ways of service and stewardship rather than demand and hoarding. It can overcome stubbornness with openness and replace isolation with relationship.

What a gift. So, if pride goes before a fall... humble service and love go before a renewed and hopeful life.

The Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler is Rector of Christ Church Greenwich. You can reach him at: jlemler@christchurchgreenwich.org.