Pride

“Pride cometh before the fall.” Really? Or is it “Arrogance cometh before the fall.” You see, I see those as two very different things. The actual saying is from Proverbs 16:18 and it says “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall.” If you read the whole chapter, it talks about many ways we should behave. “Better to seek wisdom that gold and insight to silver…Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud…Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” I can go with all of that, but, I think, sometimes things get lost in translation. When I looked up synonyms for “pride”, it said “self-respect, dignity, self-worth”. When I looked up “arrogance” it said “haughtiness, hubris, egotistical”. In English, pride and arrogance mean different things.

There isn’t anything wrong with being proud. I am very proud of my children. I am proud of who I am. I am proud to be a Christian. I am proud of every gray hair on my head. BUT - I don’t believe my children are better than any one else’s children. I don’t think I’m the end all be all. I don’t think my beliefs are more valid than anyone else's. I don’t think that my gray hair makes me any more wise than someone else. I believe it’s ok to have pride. I believe God wants us to be proud of who we are created to be. I just don’t believe that God wants us to take that pride and use it to make ourselves “better than” or “less than” or “other than.” God wants us to look in the mirror and own that we are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) - and then look at every person we come across and think “Wow, they, too, are wonderfully made.”

As we celebrate Pride Month, it’s important to remember that EVERYONE was wonderfully made by God. God is so clever, so imaginative, so loving that God can continue to create people who are unique every minute of every day. It’s up to us to honor all creation. It’s up to us to treat everyone with dignity. It’s up to us to feel enough self-respect that we don’t have to oppress someone else.

I have a t-shirt that says “Love wins” and the letters are a rainbow color. When I wear it, I remember that even death couldn’t end Love’s power and that God gave us the rainbow as a reminder that God will never abandon us. We have work to do. We need to be the love the world so desperately needs. We need to remind folks that they are wonderfully made and they are loved for exactly that. We need to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, bring justice to the oppressed, and praise the God of our understanding from whom all blessings flow. We will do it together. We will do it with God’s help.

My brothers and sisters, I am proud to walk this journey with you.

Rev. Joan