My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Risen Lord, God, and Savior JESUS CHRIST,
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! ΧΡΟΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!
Arrogance, Conceit, Ego, Pompasity, a Sense of
Superriority= PRIDE.
"Do NOT LOVE THE WORLD or THE THINGS OF
THE WORLD. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is NOT IN HIM.
For all that is in the world–the lust of flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of
the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:16-17).
"So He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Are you thus without
understanding also? DO YOU NOT PERCEIVE THAT
WHATEVER ENTERS A MAN FROM OUTSIDE CANNOT
DEFILE HIM, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT ENTER HIS HEART
BUT HIS STOMACH, and is eliminated, thus purifying
all food?’ And He said, ‘What COMES OUT OF A MAN,
THAT DEFILES A MAN. For FROM WITHIN, OUT OF THE
HEART OF MEN, PROCEEDS EVIL THOUGHTS,
AULTERIES, FORNICATIONS, MURDERS, THEFTS,
COVETOUSNESS, WICKEDNESS, DECEIT, LEWDNESS,
AN EVIL EYE, BLASPHEMY, PRIDE, FOOLISHNESS.
ALL THESE EVIL THINGS COME FROM WITHIN AND
DEFILE A MAN" (Mark 7:18-23).
"All these evil things" (v.23) are NOT what God created. We will them; we produce them; THEY ARE OUR SINS COMING FROM WITHIN US. They are a perversion of what God has made.
"PRIDE" is one of "these evil things," according to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pride is the quality of being arrogant. However, to be prideful is to properly value oneself, one’s labor, or one’s dignity. We are proud of our accomplishments in life, of our family, of our children, of our friends, of our profession, of our country, of our Church, etc. However, we must extremely careful not to be possessed with an unfettered kind of pride which is evil. The holy Apostle Peter exhorts us: "…All of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed WITH HUMILITY, FOR ‘GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE" Therefore, HUMBLE YOURSELVES under the mighty hand of God, THAT HE MAY EXALT YOU IN DUE TIME" (1 Peter 5:5-6). "HUMILITY" is the foundation of virtue, and it is learned through submission and obedience to godly "elders." In submitting to one another, we "humble" ourselves "under the mighty hand of God."
According to Saint John Climacus, "PRIDE" is a denial of God, an invention of the devil, and contempt for men. It is THE MOTHER OF CONDEMNATION, the offspring of praise, a sign of barrenness. It is a flight from God’s help, the harbinger of madness, the author of downfall. It is the cause of diabolical possession, the source of anger, the gateway of hypocrisy. It is the fortress of demons, the custodian of sins, and the source of hardheartedness. It is the denial of compassion, a bitter pharisee, a cruel judge. It is the foe of God. It is the root of blasphemy.
Pride BEGINS WHERE VAINGLORY LEAVES OFF. Its midpoint comes with the humiliation of our neighbor, the shameless parading of our achievements, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out. It ends with the spurning of God’s help, THE EXAULTING OF ONE’S OWN EFFORTS, and a devilish disposition… I have seen people who speak about their thanks to God but WHO IN THEIR HEARTS ARE GLORIFYING THEMSELVES, something demonstrated by that Pharisee with his "O God, I thank Thee" (Luke 18:11).
Saint John Climacus also reminds us, "Pride and nothing else CAUSED AN ANGEL TO FALL FROM HEAVEN. And so one may reasonably ask whether one may reach heaven by humility alone without the help of any other virtue." According to Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, "Pride is a most abominable sin, but hardly anyone recognizes it since it is hidden deep in the heart. Not knowing one’s self IS THE BEGINNING OF PRIDE. This ingnorance blinds a man, and thus BECOMES FULL OF PRIDE… Bud mand is so wretched that HE DOES NOT SEE and know his misfortune and wretchedness…
"Pride is known by its deeds as a tree is known by its fruits. But let us see what are the fruits of the bitter seed of pride:
1. A proud man seeks honor, glory, and praise by every means. He always desires to appear as something, and to direct, command, and rule others. But he is powerfully angered and embittered at whoever may prevent his desire.
2. He complains, he is displeased, and he curses when deprived of honor and leadership. "What have I done wrong? Why am I at fault? Is this what my labors and service merit?"
3. He begins labors that are beyond his strenth.
4. Our of his self-will he interefers in the affairs of others.
5. He boasts of himself shamelessly and exalts himself.
6. He looks down on and humiliates other people.
7. He does not submit, he does not obey his authorities and his parents.
8. The goods that they have they ascribe to themselvs, to their own efforts and labors, and not to God.
9. He greatly dislikes reproach and admonition. He thinks himself pure, though he be all-sullied.
10. He is impatient, is displeased, complains, and often even curses when in destruction, in contempt, in misfortunes, and calamities.
11. He displays haughtiness and is somewhat pompous, etc, in word and deed.
The virtue OPPOSED TO PRIDE IS HUMILITY… When pride retreats from a man, HUMILITY BEGINS TO DWELL IN HIM, AND THE MORE PRIDE IS DIMINISHED, SO MUCH MORE DOES HUMILITY GROW. The one gives way to the other as to its oppostie. Darkness departs and light appears. PRIDE IS DARKNESS, BUT HUMILITY IS LIGHT…
Blessed Christians! Let us know our misfortune and wretchedness, and "HUNBLE YOURSELVES therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). Let us know, beloved, that we Christians are Christ’s, Who is meek and humble of heart. It is a shameful thing, and very unbecomingof Christians, to be full of pride when Christ, God Great and Exulted, HUMBLED HIMSELF. It is a shmeful thing for servants to be proud when their Master is humble. There is nothing as unbecoming and indecent of Christians as pride, and nothing shows a Christian AS MUCH AS HUMILITY.
From HUMILITY IT IS KNOWN THAT A MAN IS A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS, MEEK, AND HUMBLE OF HEART. If we wish to show evidence that we are true Christians, let us learn from Christ to be humble as He Himself enjoins us, "LEARN FROM ME; FOR I AM MEEK, AND LOWLY OF HEART" (Matthew 11:29). Let us engrave and deepen in our membory the saying of the Apostle now explained, "FOR GOD RESISTETH THE PROUD, AND GIVETH GRACE TO THE HUMBLE" (1 Peter 5:6). [Journey to Heaven. Counsels on the particular duties of every Christian by Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk)
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
–-Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy and Most Glorious Resurrection,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 