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The Seven Deadly Sins and God’s Saving Grace

”The Sin That is Not Considered a Sin”

 Luke 18:9-14, 1 Peter 5:5, Proverbs 18:12

by Rev. Frank Schaefer

I n our continued examination of those sins that have become known in church history as “deadly” we may be surprised to find “pride” on our distinguished list.  We don’t often equate pride with sin; pride is not a word you will hear often in the confession booth.

 

In fact, when we “take pride” in accomplishments or feats, it usually refers to a good thing.  Being proud of one’s children certainly is something most parents deserve to be; and having too much pride to do lower one’s self to a low standard is admirable as well.

 

When the scriptures talk about pride, it talks about an overreaching and self-centered human attitude that brings with it a real risk to the well-being the prideful person.  The Greeks called this attitude “hubris” which is translated with “overbearing pride” and literally “presumption toward the gods.”

 

It is that same attitude that in the biblical story of the tower of Babel let people to band together in the presumption to become as powerful as God.  We all know how this story ended.   The story of Babel is a reminder to humanity that indeed “pride comes before the fall.”

 

It’s amazing that even in antiquity people already recognized the risks involved in this kind of pride.   They realized that the attitude of hubris could lead people to drop their guard, to think in less reasonable terms.  This attitude was recognized as something dangerous that one had to be aware of.  Perhaps it is this factor of the inherent risk to life itself that hubris pride was included on the list of “deadly” sins.

 

Moreover, there is an additional consequence to this kind of pride, namely the impairment of relationships.  Hubris will almost always be experienced as arrogance and a judgmental attitude by others.

 

The church has contrasted this kind of pride with God’s saving grace of humility. 

 

Let’s look at some of the verses in the Scriptures that specifically mention humility as an antithesis to pride.

 

Brief Biblical Survey of Pride vs. Humility

Proverbs 18:12  -- Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

Philippians 2:3    -- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Colossians 3:12  -- Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

1 Peter 5:5  --  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

 

It is important to stress that a healthy attitude of humility does not preclude a healthy sense of self-esteem. Humility does not mean self-debasement.  In fact, there must be a balance between a healthy self-esteem and humility. The following story (supposedly true) shows the difference between a prideful person and a woman with some healthy self esteem:

The bishop had been invited to a dinner at a local church. Having had a busy schedule that day, he was famished.

As he moved down the serving line, he asked the woman behind the counter, "Excuse me, do you mind if I have a second pudding?"

The woman replied, "Sorry, it's only one pudding per person."

"But I'm STARVED!" said the archbishop.

"I'm sorry," said the woman, "only one per person."

The archbishop was normally a modest man, but he decided that if there ever was a time that he should use the weight of his office, it was now.

"Madam!" he said. "Do you know who I AM? I am the BISHOP!"

The woman replied: "And do you know who I am? I am the lady in charge of the puddings!"

 

How can we grow as Christians in the balance between a healthy self-esteem and humility?  Let’s look at our passage from Luke 18…

 

Pride and Comparison   

 

Read Luke 18:9-14
    
Jesus' parable of the priest and the tax collector shows the dangers of leading a pious life: we often--like the priest—compare ourselves to others. Comparison to fellow human beings can be the first pitfall of prideful attitude.
       
According to the lesson Jesus gives us about the tax collector and the priest, we learn that a truly humble person does not make comparisons.

 

It already starts in Kindergarten and right through the school years. There is peer pressure, pressure to fit in. And there is judgment--judgment based on how we appear, what we wear, what kind of car we drive. As a result of such judgments—real or perceived, we all learn to make comparisons. The result is that we often get caught up in the "keeping up with the Jones' cycle.
  
Unfortunately, even we as church people sometimes become judgmental about others as we place them squarely outside the church. We Christians can be negative like the priest in Jesus' example and say: "thank God I'm not as bad as he or she."
 
When it comes to making comparison and judgments about others, Charles Spurgeon can help us. He once said: The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own estimation. Not because he is comparing himself with people, but because he is comparing himself with God.
 
How can one lose a  prideful attitude? By growing in the spiritual and saving grace of humility. Growth in humility happens when we learn how to compare ourselves less to others and more to Jesus Christ. Once we realize how much we still have to learn, we will gain the right attitude of humility. And that's the best starting point for learning how to walk in Jesus' shoes.
   

The Saving Grace of “Humility”

The root of the word Humility is the word Human, and Humus which in turn mean “dirt,” “natural fertilizer,” and  literally “from the earth.”

 

Humility is the acceptance of being human, the acceptance of one's human being--being aware of our own shortcomings as well as giftedness and potential.

 

Accepting our imperfections does not mean that we put ourselves down. It simply means that we embrace the fact that we are both saint and sinner at the same time.

 

To accept ourselves as sinners is no mean feat in light of the fact that we live in a perfectionist society where models in magazines and on TV have to look immaculate; where image is everything, and where performance is stressed over relationships.
   
Being humble means to accept one’s humanity, one’s weakness, and this attitude includes the awareness of origin.  Human beings can get carried away, chest swelled with pride, when they forget  where they came from.

   
Alex Haley, the author of Roots, has a picture in his office, showing a turtle sitting atop a fence. The picture is there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: "If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help."

Says Alex, "Any time I start thinking, Wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done! I look at that picture and remember how this turtle (as myself) got up on that post."
  
Let's not forget that it is by God's grace that we are where we are and who we are today.

 

 

Humility Goes Beyond Ourselves

 

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 5:5 – “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

According to 1 Peter 5:5 humility goes beyond us. Humility also includes the true acceptance and tolerance of the weaknesses and shortcomings of other human beings! True humility accepts another person's weakness as much as our own!
  
A truly humble person neither views himself higher than others, nor does he regard himself lower, but is rather aware of a common bond with the other's humanness--in having strengths and imperfections.
  
We usually do well accepting other's strengths--even expecting others to be perfect. That part of the other's humanity we are good at accepting. But what about accepting the weakness of others? We need make allowances for other people’s weaknesses and shortcomings without a judgmental attitude. After all, we don't want to be judged and be held to the highest standards ourselves.
  
Think about this: "At the most fundamental level of our humanness, it is our weaknesses that make us the same; it is our strengths that make us different."
  
Where we as a church demonstrate true humility every Sunday morning when it comes to accepting and embracing others in their struggles. That's why, I believe, the time of sharing is so important in our parish. When it comes to illnesses that befall us, to things that come against us in life, and to weakness that overcomes us, we are all in the same boat. We all struggle with our weakness and the need for God’s help on our spiritual journey through life. That's the commonality we can build relationships on. We can come together in humility, accepting each other in our respective weaknesses and let us celebrate the Grace of Our God that is extended to all of us by God and the fellowship of believers.     

Confessing our sins, acknowledging our weakness before God, is what Jesus says will merit forgiveness and make us stronger in our faith. We must listen to the Master, let us become like the tax collector in confessing our sins, including the sin of our prideful attitudes. Amen.

 

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