Pride

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Ok, here is my topic for debate.

Pride is a sin, but is there not such a thing as healthy pride? And if there is, what is it.

For example, a lot of people think or say one should have things they are proud of. Just the other day someone asked me what accomplishment I was proud of to which I answered ‘nothing’. Now I think this person was trying to help me feel good about myself and said ‘well, I am sure there are tons of things you have done to be proud of’

But the reality is I am not. Take my education for example. I am NOT proud of it. I am grateful God gave me the ability and the finances to get my degree, but I am NOT proud.

And the few things I am proud of, I don’t want to share with the world. For example, everytime I actually make it to the gym, I am proud of myself for going instead of staying home and sleeping. But just knowing I did it, is good enough, I don’t need others to know.

Or even when friends and family tell me to be proud or that they are proud of me because of XYZ it boils my blood as if there is not tomorrow. It makes me feel that I have to earn their love.

For example, a long lost family member died suddenly and I went out of town to the funeral. And honestly, there was a reason I avoided this person for over 10 years. But I went to the funeral for selfish reasons. I seriously believed it would help me put closure on all the resentments I had against him. And yes, it was very therapeutic for me. Well… my dad told me how proud he was of me for going to the funeral. Coming from my dad, I know that was his way of paying me a big compliment. But honestly, I would have much preferred a ‘thank you for you kindness’. There was no need to be proud.

Sometimes I wonder if someone is proud of me because I can do xyz, then there is pressure to always have to do it. And then there is no freedom to say ‘well, today, I don’t want to’ or if I don’t measure up and fall short sometime, the consequences are worst than if I never was able to do it in the first place.

So, what do others think of pride and what is healthy pride

CM

 

[bzkoss236]

My thoughts:

Unhealthy Pride: Thinking that because of a certain characteristic you possess makes you better than someone else.

Healthy Pride (Christian definition): Being thankful for God giving you the opportunity to possess a certain characteristic.

Healthy Pride (Secular definition): Being grateful for having the opportunity to possess a certain characteristic.

Consider the following hypothetical:

You are a parent and your kid gets the highest grade in the class on a hard test.

Unhealthy Pride: You feel your child is better than all the others.
Healthy Pride (Christian): You thank God for having a hard-working and talented child.
Healthy Pride (Secular): You are grateful for having a hard-working and talented child.

Basically, the simple differentiation as to when pride becomes sinful is when you are happy because you feel the characteristic makes you better than others (even if it is just one other person) instead of just being happy that you were able to achieve said characteristic.

 

[Seira]

So, what do others think of pride and what is healthy pride

Being proud of your child. Like say your child gives up their allowance or whatever $ they saved up & instead of buying something they want decides to give it to charity. You might be proud of your kid for making such a choice (because a lot of kids wouldn’t). I think that’s healthy pride. Everything in moderation.

 

[coachdennis]

Ok, here is my topic for debate.

Pride is a sin, but is there not such a thing as healthy pride? And if there is, what is it.

For example, a lot of people think or say one should have things they are proud of. Just the other day someone asked me what accomplishment I was proud of to which I answered ‘nothing’. Now I think this person was trying to help me feel good about myself and said ‘well, I am sure there are tons of things you have done to be proud of’

But the reality is I am not. Take my education for example. I am NOT proud of it. I am grateful God gave me the ability and the finances to get my degree, but I am NOT proud.

And the few things I am proud of, I don’t want to share with the world. For example, everytime I actually make it to the gym, I am proud of myself for going instead of staying home and sleeping. But just knowing I did it, is good enough, I don’t need others to know.

Or even when friends and family tell me to be proud or that they are proud of me because of XYZ it boils my blood as if there is not tomorrow. It makes me feel that I have to earn their love.

For example, a long lost family member died suddenly and I went out of town to the funeral. And honestly, there was a reason I avoided this person for over 10 years. But I went to the funeral for selfish reasons. I seriously believed it would help me put closure on all the resentments I had against him. And yes, it was very therapeutic for me. Well… my dad told me how proud he was of me for going to the funeral. Coming from my dad, I know that was his way of paying me a big compliment. But honestly, I would have much preferred a ‘thank you for you kindness’. There was no need to be proud.

Sometimes I wonder if someone is proud of me because I can do xyz, then there is pressure to always have to do it. And then there is no freedom to say ‘well, today, I don’t want to’ or if I don’t measure up and fall short sometime, the consequences are worst than if I never was able to do it in the first place.

So, what do others think of pride and what is healthy pride

CM

If you want people debate, you need to define the term that people are debating. We need a point of departure. Otherwise, it is just spinning of wheels.

This is the definition from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

**Pride is the excessive love of one’s own excellence. **

 

[A_G]

Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but it depends on what kind of pride we are talking about.

It is ok to be proud of your parents, your children, your accomplishments, who you are (country, heritage, etc.), and so on. It is perfectly fine to say “I’m proud of these things.” However, you must at the same time be humble and always put God first. You must recognize that none of this, whatever makes you proud, is possible without God. You can be proud, but God must come first in your life.

Is is sinful when you are proud because you think you are better than or don’t need God, everyone is below you, etc… Pride is a sin when it becomes arrogance, conceit and vanity. Sinful pride is when one thinks of them self as being more equal to God then someone else. Their real desire is to be God.

"You shall not have other gods besides me." Exodus 20:3

Humbleness, humility, modesty is the key to overcome the deadly sin of pride. Humility is NOT putting yourself down, or insulting yourself. It is recognizing that all those positive things that make us proud (accomplishments, gifts, talents, etc…) come from God. Again, we must put God first, worship Him only, and thank Him for all our blessings.

 

[Actaeon]

Ok, here is my topic for debate.

Pride is a sin, but is there not such a thing as healthy pride? And if there is, what is it.

For example, a lot of people think or say one should have things they are proud of. Just the other day someone asked me what accomplishment I was proud of to which I answered ‘nothing’. Now I think this person was trying to help me feel good about myself and said ‘well, I am sure there are tons of things you have done to be proud of’

But the reality is I am not. Take my education for example. I am NOT proud of it. I am grateful God gave me the ability and the finances to get my degree, but I am NOT proud.

And the few things I am proud of, I don’t want to share with the world. For example, everytime I actually make it to the gym, I am proud of myself for going instead of staying home and sleeping. But just knowing I did it, is good enough, I don’t need others to know.

Or even when friends and family tell me to be proud or that they are proud of me because of XYZ it boils my blood as if there is not tomorrow. It makes me feel that I have to earn their love.

For example, a long lost family member died suddenly and I went out of town to the funeral. And honestly, there was a reason I avoided this person for over 10 years. But I went to the funeral for selfish reasons. I seriously believed it would help me put closure on all the resentments I had against him. And yes, it was very therapeutic for me. Well… my dad told me how proud he was of me for going to the funeral. Coming from my dad, I know that was his way of paying me a big compliment. But honestly, I would have much preferred a ‘thank you for you kindness’. There was no need to be proud.

Sometimes I wonder if someone is proud of me because I can do xyz, then there is pressure to always have to do it. And then there is no freedom to say ‘well, today, I don’t want to’ or if I don’t measure up and fall short sometime, the consequences are worst than if I never was able to do it in the first place.

So, what do others think of pride and what is healthy pride

CM

There is such a thing as false humility, though… wherein we have a sort of “reverse pride” in how much we denigrate our own accomplishments… and this type of pride is as much a vice as the over-boastful type.

REAL humility involves a realistic view of yourself and your accomplishments. You can be happy with yourself when you’ve done well (in fact, doing good things because of good feelings that result is one of the critical stages in human moral development). You can also recognize where you’ve failed and need to improve. Furthermore, real humility involves recognizing that our accomplishments, despite our noteworthy contributions to them, stem from assistance from God and from others (our employers who pay us so we can finance school, loans from banks, tutors, etc). When we denigrate our accomplishments, we not only denigrate our own work, but we devalue the contributions that others (God included) have made to our success as well.

A healthy level of pride is real humility.