I have been reading about religion and the Bible. One of the seven deadly sins is pride. I believe that of all the sins, pride is the worst one. The reason is that when someone is prideful then it is like a gateway that opens the person up to all the rest of the sins. When someone is prideful, that person says they know better than God and if they know better than God, there’s no reason to follow His commandments or anything else that religion, spirituality, or morality teaches.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is humility. Being humble is the opposite of being prideful. However, I have begun to realize that humility isn’t just realizing that I’m not the most important special human being on Earth. Judging how important I am is always done in relation to my brothers and sisters in Christ. A good example is the President of the United States. He is important because the people of this country have chosen him to lead our country. In comparison to an ordinary American, he is more important because an ordinary American doesn’t have the everyday job of leading the country. However, if the country didn’t exist and he was just surrounded by millions of people in North America, he would just be an ordinary man. Another example is that we place importance on the rich because they have money. However, if there was no money, then the rich would be equal to the rest of us. There’d be no comparison.
I’m not advocating that there’s a system where everyone is equal. My point is that if I am going to be filled with humility, then I’m not going to compare myself to others. Comparison to my brothers and sisters in Christ is what creates pridefulness and a sense of importance. I don’t want to be an important human being. I never have. I have thought about what it would be like to be rich and famous as a fantasy, but I know that I wouldn’t like it in real life. When I started to write, the one thing that bothered me more than anything else was the nagging question: Who am I to think others would want to read my thoughts and words? The only answer I could ever come up with that would satisfy me was that I’m no one special, except a servant a God. It really doesn’t matter who I am because I’m not the important part of the story. I am just the messenger.
I guess I need more than anything now to pray for humility. If I can learn to stop comparing my life to others in any way, shape, or form, I know I will find greater peace and serenity than I will have every imagined.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
