Pride vs Pride: What's the Difference? Pride: the main sin or the all-consuming sense of selfishness

Pride creates an unnatural image of a person, and it overshadows the living Soul. That's why philosophers from the past and geniuses today little can be done.
Since, having only made the first stroke, they immediately lose, embraced by selfhood, what was given to them at the beginning

One of the deadly sins of man is pride. He, this sin, is subject to most people

pride not to be confused with pride. Ushakov's dictionary has the following definition of pride: exorbitant pride, arrogance.

Greek synonym - hybrid, hubris- arrogance, pride, arrogance, hypertrophied pride.

Pride is a mortal sin, many people know this. But few realize it's a mortal sin as well for the soul, not just for the body.

Pride manifests itself like this: a person considers himself superior to others, does not consider all people equal to each other. He begins to condemn others, envy them, hate other people, harm them, subjugate them to himself and create life inconveniences. Even within the same family, pride can be destructive. A proud spouse always makes claims, gives commands, “saws”, condemns - anything. As a result, both suffer.

In addition to the consequences for others, in which there is not a drop of positive, pride is also dangerous for the person himself. Pride can be the cause of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer.

Surprisingly, but often pride happens to believers. They condemn other people who live differently, put themselves above them.

Spiritual selfhood is the pinnacle of the most mortal sin - pride

Pride does not allow a person to forgive and love, he thinks that his dignity and himself have been insulted, hurt, and therefore he should at least not talk to the offender and, at the very least, dirty him, be rude.

A person subject to pride is looking for an opportunity to rise in his own eyes above someone. Get the desired assessment or self-esteem, prove to the whole world that he is right and the world is wrong. Prove your exclusivity, independence, or something else that can lift a person in their own eyes. And if it also rises in the eyes of others, then in general there will be a sea of ​​\u200b\u200b"positive". Why in quotes? Because drug addicts also get indescribable pleasure from drugs, but can such a positive be healthy and healthy? ..

I think we all have come across (or even discovered in ourselves) people who are constantly "smart" and criticizing. So they are trying to assert themselves, rise up, get an assessment, and if this assessment corresponds to their opinion of themselves, here it is - the long-awaited dose. Here it is - the happiness of feeling the very best! Here it is - pride!

And dependence on praise! You don't even need to write anything here. Surely, among your acquaintances, you will find a couple or two of such lovers to be highly appreciated for beautiful eyes or for hard efforts.

What is the "cure" for pride? That's right, love Love can handle any negative feelings. If a person loves, he will forget about pride, forgive the offense, and hatred is generally alien loving heart.

Poem about Pride and Pride

Once upon a time Pride and Pride came together...

Pride, looking around, down

said harshly: “Pride! I am from now on

mistress on earth. And while you

get out of my way. Don't disturb me famously

manage everything. I can manage without you."

And Pride did not argue with her.Quietly

She just smiled and walked away silently.

Pride unfolded in earnest:

looked at people over their heads,

did not linger around for a minute,

didn't waste words.

Without descending to the "lower class",

Pride saw only itself.

And, leaving behind slander,

I grew my own "I"

and did not notice anything around.

Where is she, the "Great", to worries?

Prayers and requests deftly rejected:

they say, and their problems innumerable.

Pride surrounded itself with Flattery,

Subservience, Power, Vanity.

Criticism answered with Revenge,

without understanding any of the reasons.

"Bathing" in Worship and Gold,

despising forever the Divine Law,

Pride faded, as if at sunset,

The light fades, hiding in the horizon.

And yet, being in captivity of illusions,

Pride is on earth.

And, having established itself in only a few people,

she "does things" in spiritual darkness...

Where is Pride? What happened to her?

Where did this modest woman go?

Let's see what stuck to her hands?

Is she wasting her life in vain?

With Pride, parting imperceptibly,

went where there are no high words.

She lived like everyone else, and did not shun the poor,

did not violate moral principles.

She worked with gusto. And silently

Hulu demolished, barbs, slander.

And strengthening purity in the soul of people,

Revived the Divine Covenant again.

She returned crumbs to the soul

Words of Love, Keeping Patience.

In itself, both Anger and Jealousy won

And tamed my own "I".

But Pride helped the Man,

when he was trampled for nothing.

And, without fear of defeat, stood up

for his honor. And evil retreated.

I didn’t cry and I didn’t ask for mercy,

with the Dignity of deprivation enduring.

I didn't put myself on a pedestal.

She judged according to Conscience, and not revenge ...

Here life again brought two on the trail ...

Pride, akimbo, stands again,

but not alone - in captivity of boggy dreams,

and so arrogantly says:

“I see, Pride, you have not succeeded!

You earned some benefits!

Here I am, you see, I have become what I wanted!

Now I live in Wealth, without Worries.

But Pride answered her without fear:

“Yes, I work, and this is my success.

I carry love - it is the beginning of everything.

I am Honor. And you, alas, are only a mortal sin.

Pride... Pride... They have the same root.

Shades in behavior can not be counted ...

And if vices are overcome in Pride,

Pride is not familiar with the words Honor.

On the thin line of pride and arrogance

A person is an emotional person, with well-established rules of life. He has a large energy reserve, with the help of feelings he shows his attitude to the world around him, but what potential a person’s thoughts are charged with and what emotions he radiates in the process of communicating with people depends on him. What is pride and why it is named for a person - let's try to formulate.

Pride - what is it?

Pride is a feeling of superiority of one's own person over others. This is an inadequate assessment of personal worth. It often leads to making stupid mistakes that others suffer from. Pride is manifested in arrogant disrespect for other people and their lives and problems. People who have a sense of pride - brag about their life achievements. They determine their own success by personal aspirations and efforts, not noticing God's help in obvious life circumstances, they do not recognize the facts of other people's support.

In Latin, the term pride sounds "superbia". Pride is a mortal sin for the reason that all the qualities inherent in a person are from the Creator. To see in oneself the source of all life's achievements and to consider that everything around is the fruits of one's own labors is completely wrong. Criticism of others and discussion of their insolvency, mockery of failures - amuses the pride of people with pride.

Signs of pride

The conversations of such people are based on "I" or "ME". The manifestation of pride is the world in the eyes of the proud, which is divided into two unequal halves - "He" and all the rest. Moreover, “everyone else” in comparison with him is an empty place, unworthy of attention. If you think about "everyone else", then only for comparison, in a light favorable to pride - stupid, ungrateful, wrong, weak, and so on.

Pride in psychology

Pride can be a sign of bad parenting. In childhood, parents are able to inspire their child that he is the best. It is necessary to praise and support the child - but for specific, not fictional reasons, but to reward with false praise - to form pride, a person with high self-esteem. Such people do not know how to analyze their shortcomings. In childhood, they did not hear criticism and are not able to perceive it in adulthood.

Often pride destroys relationships - it is unpleasant to communicate with a proud person. Initially, not many people like to feel an order of magnitude lower, listen to arrogant monologues, and not want to compromise. The talents and abilities of another person, struck by pride, do not recognize. If such are openly noticed in a society or company, then the proud will publicly refute them and deny them in every possible way.

What is pride in Orthodoxy?

In Orthodoxy, pride is considered the main sin, it becomes the source of other spiritual vices: vanity, greed, resentment. The foundation on which salvation is built human soul- Lord above all. Then you have to love your neighbor, sometimes sacrificing your own interests. But spiritual pride does not recognize debts to others; a feeling of compassion is alien to it. The virtue that eradicates pride is humility. It manifests itself in patience, prudence, obedience.

What is the difference between pride and pride?

Pride and arrogance have different meanings and manifest themselves in a person's character in different ways. Pride is a feeling of joy for specific, justified reasons. It does not minimize or belittle the interests of other people. Pride is the border, it means life values, displays inner world, allows a person with sincere feeling rejoice in the accomplishments of others. Pride makes a person a slave to his own principles:

• forces to build relationships on the principle of inequality;
• does not forgive mistakes;
• has vindictiveness;
• does not recognize human talents;
• prone to self-affirmation on other people's labors;
• does not allow a person to learn from their own mistakes.

Causes of pride

Modern society forms the opinion that a woman can do without a man. Women's pride does not recognize family union- a marriage in which the man is the head and his opinion should be the main one. A woman in such a relationship does not recognize the rightness of a man, clearly puts forward her independence as an argument, and seeks to subdue his will. It is important for her to be a winner in a relationship with unshakable principles. To sacrifice one's own ambitions for the good of the family is unacceptable for a proud woman.

Excessive control, sawing and female irritation for a petty reason - poison the lives of both. All scandals end only after the man admits his guilt and the female Ego wins. If a man is forced to praise the superiority of his wife for any petty reason, he feels humiliated. His love fades - passions rise, and he leaves the family.

What does pride lead to?

Pride is called an inferiority complex. An unhealthy sense of superiority over others does not allow a person to recognize his shortcomings, encourages him to prove his case by all means - to lie, boast, invent and dissemble. The vain and proud have developed a sense of cruelty, anger, hatred, resentment, contempt, envy and despair - which is characteristic of people who are weak in spirit. The fruits of pride - generating aggressive behavior to others.

"Sin of Lucifer"

We, the people brought up in Soviet time, from childhood it was instilled that pride is almost the main virtue of a Soviet person. Remember: "Man - it sounds proud"; "The Soviets have their own pride: the bourgeois are looked down upon." Indeed, at the heart of any rebellion is pride. Pride is the sin of Satan, the first passion that appeared in the world even before the creation of people. And the first revolutionary was Satan.

When the angelic world was created, the heavenly host, one of the highest and most powerful angel, Dennitsa, did not want to be in obedience and love for God. He became proud of his power and strength and desired to become like God himself. Dennitsa dragged many angels with him, and there was a war in heaven. Archangel Michael and his angels fought with Satan and defeated the evil army. Satan-Lucifer fell like lightning from heaven to hell. And since then, the underworld, hell, is a place where dark spirits live, a place devoid of the light and grace of God.

The rebel-revolutionary cannot but be proud, he is the successor of the work of Lucifer on earth.

Communism is a quasi-religion, and, like any creed, it has its own "creed" and its commandments. Their "relics", "icons", banners - banners and religious processions - demonstrations. Only the Bolsheviks intended to build paradise on earth, without God, and, of course, any thought of humility was considered ridiculous and absurd. What more humility when "we are ours, we new world let's build, who was nothing, he will become everything.

However, God cannot be mocked, and history itself passed its judgment on the Bolsheviks. Heaven without God could not be built, proud plans were put to shame. But although communism fell, pride did not decrease, it just took on different forms. To talk to modern man about humility is also very difficult. After all, a market capitalist society, aimed at success and career, is also based on pride.

Although you often hear in confession when you ask a question about the sin of pride, and the answer is: “Something, but I don’t have pride.” One woman writes to St. Theophan the Recluse: “She spoke with her spiritual father and told him different things about herself. He told me directly that I was proud and conceited. I answered him that I was not proud at all, but I could not stand humiliation and servility. And this is what the saint answered her: “The burial service was excellent. You do not let yourself be offended by them, so that they know that for you bare hand can't be grabbed. Vish, thought up to call as, moreover in eyes? Now I will sentence you: what better proof that you are proud than your rebuke? She is not the fruit of humility. And why should you cross such a sentence? .. It’s better for you, without contradicting, to put yourself in depth, is there, in fact, this potion in you, extremely unkind.

So, what is pride and how does this sin manifest itself? Let us turn again to St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov): pride is “contempt for one’s neighbor. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Obscuration, debility of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earth. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the law of God and the Church. Follow your carnal will. Reading heretical, depraved, vain books. Disobedience to authorities. A biting mockery. Abandoning Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Irreligion. Ignorance. Death of the soul."

Trial and condemnation

St. Cassian the Roman speaks of pride, that although it is the last in the list of eight passions, “but in the beginning and time there is the first. This is the most ferocious and most indomitable beast."

Pride, in the series of passions, comes after vanity, which means that it stems from this vice and has a beginning in it. “The flash of lightning foreshadows a thunderclap, and pride foreshadows the appearance of vanity,” instructs Reverend Neil Sinai. The search for vain, vain glory, praise, inflated self-esteem gives rise to exaltation over people: “I am higher than them, more worthy; they are below me." This is what pride is. Condemnation is also associated with this feeling. How, if I am above all, then it means that I am more righteous, all the rest are more sinful than me. Inflated self-esteem does not allow you to objectively judge yourself, but it helps to be a judge of others.

Pride, starting with vanity, can reach the depths of hell, because this is the sin of Satan himself. None of the passions can grow to such limits as pride, this is what it is. main danger. But back to condemnation. To condemn means to judge, to anticipate the judgment of God, to usurp His rights (this is also a terrible pride!), for only the Lord, who knows the past, present and future of a person, can judge him. Reverend John Savvaitsky tells the following: “Once a monk from a neighboring monastery came to me, and I asked him how the fathers live. He answered: "All right, according to your prayers." Then I asked about a monk who did not enjoy a good reputation, and the guest said to me: “He has not changed at all, father!” Hearing this, I exclaimed: “Bad!”. And as soon as I said this, I immediately felt as if in ecstasy and saw Jesus Christ crucified between two thieves. I was rushing to worship the Savior, when suddenly He turned to the upcoming angels and said to them: “Put him out, this is the Antichrist, for he condemned his brother before My judgment.” And when, according to the word of the Lord, I was cast out, my mantle was left in the door, and then I woke up. “Woe is me,” I said then to the brother who came, “this day is angry with me!” "Why is that?" he asked. Then I told him about the vision and noticed that the mantle I left behind meant that I was deprived of the protection and help of God. And from that time on, I spent seven years wandering in the deserts, neither eating bread, nor going under shelter, nor talking with people, until I saw my Lord, who returned the mantle to me, ”narrates in the Prologue.

That's how scary it is to pass judgment on a person. Grace departed from the ascetic only because he said about his brother's behavior: "It's bad!" How many times a day do we, in thoughts or words, give our merciless assessment of our neighbor! Each time forgetting the words of Christ: “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Matt. 7:1)! At the same time, in our hearts, of course, we say to ourselves: “I would never do anything like that!”. And very often the Lord, for our correction, to shame our pride and desire to condemn others, humbles us.

In Jerusalem there lived a virgin who spent six years in her cell, leading an ascetic life. She wore a sackcloth and renounced all earthly pleasures. But then the demon of vanity and pride aroused in her a desire to condemn other people. And the grace of God left her for excessive pride, and she fell into fornication. This happened because she struggled not out of love for God, but for show, for the sake of vain glory. When she became intoxicated by the demon of pride, the holy angel, the guardian of chastity, left her.

Very often the Lord allows us to fall into the very sins for which we condemn our neighbors.

Our assessments of our neighbor are very incomplete and subjective, we not only cannot look into his soul, but often we do not know anything about him at all. Christ did not condemn obvious sinners, neither harlots, nor adulterers, because he knew that the earthly path of these people was not over yet, and they could take the path of correction and virtue. Only judgment after death brings the final line to everything that a person has done in life. We see how a person sins, but we do not know how he repents.

Once I returned from the cemetery, where I was invited to serve a memorial service, and the woman who called me asked me to bless the car for her. One of my friends was present at the consecration. When the woman left in a brand new foreign car, already consecrated, he threw out the phrase: “Yes, it’s not clear that she was very bothered, earning money for this car.” Then I told him that this woman great sorrow, her son was killed not so long ago ... You can never judge well-being by appearance human life.

Pride and division

In our time, there have appeared many "scoffers" (as the apostle Jude calls them), who constantly find reasons for indignation with the church hierarchy. The patriarch, you see, communicates too much with the secular authorities, the bishops are all completely infected with money-grubbing and simony, the priests also think only about income and drive around in Mercedes. Special newspapers and websites have appeared that specialize in exposing the episcopate. Apparently, it seems to them that now the very times have come when “the bishops will not even believe in the resurrection of Christ.” Complete, as it were, the decline of piety and church life.

What drives these people? Pride. Who gave them such a right to denounce bishops and priests, and what do these denunciations give? They only sow enmity, confusion and division in the hearts of Orthodox people, who, on the contrary, need to unite now.

There have been unworthy people among priests and bishops at all times, and not only in the 20th or 21st century. Let us turn to the "golden age" of Orthodoxy, the age of holiness and the flourishing of theology. The IV century gave such pillars of the Church as Saints Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian, Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom and many, many others. And this is what St. John Chrysostom writes about this “golden age”: “What could be more lawless, when people who are worthless and full of many vices receive honor for something for which they should not have been allowed to cross the threshold of the church?.. Now the leaders of the Church suffer from sins ... But the lawless, burdened with a thousand crimes, invaded the Church, the tax-farmers became abbots.” Many of the holy bishops of the 4th century, including St. John himself, were sent into exile by "robber councils" of hierarchs, and some died in it. But none of them ever called for a split and division. I am sure that many thousands of people would follow the deposed saints if they wanted to create their own “alternative church”. But the holy men knew that the sin of schism and division is not washed away even by martyr's blood.

This is not how modern accusers act, they prefer a schism to submission to the hierarchy, this immediately shows that they are driven by the same pride. It lies at the root of any schism. How many schismatic, catacomb churches are now appearing, calling themselves Orthodox! "True Orthodox Church”, “the most true Orthodox Church”, “the most, most true”, etc. And each of these false churches, out of pride, considers itself better, purer, holier than all the others. The same passion of pride moved and drives the Old Believers. They were divided into a huge number of Old Believer "churches", interpretations, agreements, which do not have communion with each other. As St. Theophan the Recluse wrote: "Hundreds of stupid rumors and thousands of disagreements." This is the path of all schismatics and heretics. By the way, all the Old Believers are based not at all on love for the old rite, but on pride and a high opinion of their exclusivity and correctness and hatred of Patriarch Nikon and his followers, the Nikonians.

But let's say a little more about the "cursors", they should remember the words of St. Cyprian of Carthage: "To whom the Church is not a mother, God is not the Father." The Church was, is and will be, despite the unworthiness of some hierarchs, who, as I have already said, have been in all ages and times. God will judge them, not us. The Lord says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Rom. 12:19). And we can correct the Church with only one thing - our personal piety. After all, we are also the Church. “Save yourself and thousands around you will be saved,” said St. Seraphim of Sarov. And he knew this from his own spiritual experience. These are the people who are the little leaven that leavens the whole dough. A small amount of yeast can raise a whole sourdough. But, by the way, according to my own observations, "scoldiers" with personal piety and morality, as a rule, have a hard time. But there is more than enough pride.

seduction

One of the most terrible and badly curable types of pride is charm.

Charm means seduction. The devil seduces a person, taking the form of an angel of Light, saints, the Mother of God, and even Christ Himself. A corrupted person is given from Satan the greatest spiritual experiences, he can perform feats, even miracles, but all this is captivity by demonic forces. And at the heart of it lies pride. A person became proud of his spiritual labors, deeds, performed them out of vanity, pride, often for show, without humility, and thereby opened his soul to the action of hostile forces.

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) in his Fatherland gives an example of what terrible consequences delusion can lead to: “They said about a certain brother who lived as a hermit in the desert and for many years was seduced by demons, thinking that they were angels. From time to time his father according to the flesh came to him. Once a father, going to his son, took an ax with him with the intention of chopping firewood on the way back. One of the demons, warning the coming of the father, appeared to his son and said to him: “Here the devil comes to you in the likeness of your father with the aim of killing you, he has an ax with him. You warn him, pull out the ax and kill him.” The father came, according to custom, and the son, seizing an ax, stabbed him and killed him. It is very difficult to get someone who has fallen into delusion out of this state, but there have been such cases. As, for example, with the Monk Nikita of Kiev-Pechersk. Having fallen into charm, he was able to predict some events, memorized the whole Old Testament. But after the intense prayer of the venerable Kiev-Pechersk elders, the demon departed from him. After that, he forgot everything he knew from books, and his fathers barely taught him to read and write.

Cases of demonic seduction occur even today. A young man who studied with me at the seminary prayed and fasted very intensely, but, apparently, with a wrong, unhumble disposition of soul. The students began to notice that he spent the whole day sitting behind books. Everyone thought that he was reading the Holy Fathers. It turned out that he studied books on Islam and the occult. I stopped confessing and taking communion. Unfortunately, he could not be brought out of this state, and he was soon expelled.

The sin of pride, sometimes beginning with petty vanity and pride, can grow into a terrible spiritual disease. That is why the holy fathers called this passion the most dangerous and the greatest of passions.

Fight with pride

How do they struggle with pride, contempt of neighbors, self-exaltation? What is the opposite of this passion?

The Holy Fathers teach that the opposite virtue to pride is love. The most used O The last of the passions fights with the highest virtue.

How to acquire love for your neighbor?

As they say, it is easy to love all mankind, but it is very difficult to love specific person with all its faults and weaknesses. When the Lord was asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the law?” He replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

Love is a great feeling that unites us with God, for "God is love." Love is the only happiness, it can help us overcome all difficulties and defeat pride and selfishness. But not everyone correctly understands what love is. Love is often mistaken for the pleasant sensations we get when we are treated well, but this is not love. “If you love those who love you, what good is it to you? Do not the publicans do the same? (Matthew 5:46). It is very easy and pleasant to love a person, to be near him when he only makes us happy. But when communication with our neighbor does not suit us, we immediately change our attitude towards him, often to the diametrically opposite one: “one step from love to hate.” But that means we didn't love true love, our love for our neighbor was consumer. We loved those good feelings that were associated with him, and when they disappeared, love also disappeared. It turns out that we loved a person as a thing that we need. Not even as a thing, but as a product, delicious food, because we still take care of our favorite things, for example, we polish the body of our favorite car, regularly service it, buy all kinds of jewelry, etc. That is, even in a thing, if we love it, we put our care and attention. And only food we love for its taste, no more; when it is eaten, we no longer need it. So, true love gives but does not require. And that is the true joy of love. The joy of receiving something is a material, consumer joy, but in giving to someone it is true, eternal.

Love is service. In this, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gives us a great example when He washed the feet of the apostles at the Last Supper, saying: “So, if I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, then you must also wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do what I have done to you” (John 13:14-15). And Christ loves us not for anything (because there is nothing special to love us for), but simply because we are His children. Even sinful, disobedient, spiritually ill, but it is the sick, weak child that parents love most of all.

The feeling of love cannot exist without our efforts. It needs to be nurtured in your heart, warmed up day by day. Love is a conscious decision: "I want to love." And we must do everything so that this feeling does not go out, otherwise our feeling will not last long, it will depend on many random reasons: emotions, our mood, life circumstances, the behavior of our neighbor, etc. It is impossible to fulfill the words of Christ in another way, because we are commanded to love not only for our loved ones - parents, spouses, children, but also for all people. Love is acquired by daily work, but the reward for this work is great, for nothing on earth can be higher than this feeling. But in the beginning, we have to literally force ourselves to love. For example, you came home tired, do not wait until they do something nice for you, help yourself, wash, say, the dishes. overcame Bad mood- push yourself, smile, say sweet Nothing Don't take your anger out on others. Offended by a person, you consider him wrong, you are innocent - force yourself, show love and go first to reconcile. And pride is defeated. But here it is very important not to become proud of your “humility”. So, educating himself day after day, a person will someday reach the point where he will no longer be able to live differently: he will have an inner need to give his love, to share it.

Very important point in love - to see the value of each person, because there is something good in everyone, you just need to change your often biased attitude. Only by cultivating love for your neighbor in your heart, changing your attitude towards him, learning to see in him the good side, we will step by step conquer pride and exaltation in ourselves. Love conquers pride, for pride is a lack of love for God and people.

How to learn to love God? Having fallen in love with His creation - man. Man is the image of God, and it is impossible to love the Archetype even without love, to disrespect the icon, the image of God. No wonder the Apostle John the Theologian writes to us: “Whoever says: “I love God,” and hates his brother, that one is a liar: for he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20).

Instead of a conclusion: "Kingdom Heavenly power is taken"

The path of struggle with passions is not easy and thorny, we often become exhausted, fall, suffer defeat, sometimes it seems that there is no more strength, but we get up again and start to fight. Because this is the only way Orthodox Christian. “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other” (Matt. 6:24). It is impossible to serve God and remain a slave to the passions.

Of course, no serious business is done easily and quickly. Whether we are rebuilding a temple, building a house, raising a child, treating a seriously ill person, great efforts are always required. “The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). And the acquisition Heavenly Kingdom impossible without cleansing oneself from sins and passions. In the Slavic translation of the Gospel (always more accurate, figurative) instead of the verb "takes" the word "needs" is used. And indeed, spiritual work requires not just the application of efforts, but coercion, coercion, overcoming oneself.

A person who fights against passions and overcomes them is crowned for this by the Lord. Once the Monk Seraphim of Sarov was asked: “Who in our monastery stands above all before God?” And the monk replied that he was a cook from the monastery kitchen, originally from former soldiers. The elder also said: “The nature of this cook is fiery. He is ready to kill a person in his passion, but his incessant struggle within the soul attracts the great favor of God to him. For the struggle he is served from above blessed power Holy Spirit, for God's word is immutable, which says: "He who overcomes (myself) I will give a place to sit with me and clothe in white clothes." And, on the contrary, if a person does not fight with himself, then he comes to a terrible bitterness, which leads to certain death and despair.

Pride is a feeling of superiority of one's own person over others. This is an inadequate assessment of personal worth. It often leads to making stupid mistakes that others suffer from. Pride is manifested in arrogant disrespect for other people and their lives and problems. People who have a sense of pride - brag about their life achievements. They determine their own success by personal aspirations and efforts, not noticing God's help in obvious life circumstances, they do not recognize the facts of other people's support.

In Latin, the term pride sounds "superbia". Pride is a mortal sin for the reason that all the qualities inherent in a person are from the Creator. To see in oneself the source of all life's achievements and to consider that everything around is the fruits of one's own labors is completely wrong. Criticism of others and discussion of their insolvency, mockery of failures - amuses the pride of people with pride.

Signs of pride

The conversations of such people are based on "I" or "ME". The manifestation of pride is the world in the eyes of the proud, which is divided into two unequal halves - "He" and all the rest. Moreover, “everyone else” in comparison with him is an empty place, unworthy of attention. If you think about "everyone else", then only for comparison, in a light favorable to pride - stupid, ungrateful, wrong, weak, and so on.

Pride in psychology

Pride can be a sign of bad parenting. In childhood, parents are able to inspire their child that he is the best. It is necessary to praise and support the child - but for specific, not fictional reasons, but to reward with false praise - to form pride, a person with high self-esteem. Such people do not know how to analyze their shortcomings. In childhood, they did not hear criticism and are not able to perceive it in adulthood.

Often pride destroys relationships - it is unpleasant to communicate with a proud person. Initially, not many people like to feel an order of magnitude lower, listen to arrogant monologues, and not want to compromise. The talents and abilities of another person, struck by pride, do not recognize. If such are openly noticed in a society or company, then the proud will publicly refute them and deny them in every possible way.

What is pride in Orthodoxy?

In Orthodoxy, pride is considered the main sin, it becomes the source of other spiritual vices: vanity, greed, resentment. The basis on which the salvation of the human soul is built is the Lord, above all. Then you have to love your neighbor, sometimes sacrificing your own interests. But spiritual pride does not recognize debts to others; a feeling of compassion is alien to it. The virtue that eradicates pride is humility. It manifests itself in patience, prudence, obedience.

What is the difference between pride and pride?

Pride and arrogance have different meanings and manifest themselves in a person's character in different ways. Pride is a feeling of joy for specific, justified reasons. It does not minimize or belittle the interests of other people. Pride is a border, it denotes life values, reflects the inner world, allows a person to rejoice with a sincere feeling for the achievements of other people. Pride makes a person a slave to his own principles:

forces to build relationships on the principle of inequality; does not forgive mistakes; has vindictiveness; does not recognize human talents; prone to self-affirmation on other people's work; does not allow a person to learn from their own mistakes.

Causes of pride

Modern society forms the opinion that a woman can do without a man. Women's pride does not recognize a family union - a marriage in which a man is the head and his opinion should be the main one. A woman in such a relationship does not recognize the rightness of a man, clearly puts forward her independence as an argument, and seeks to subdue his will. It is important for her to be a winner in a relationship with unshakable principles. To sacrifice one's own ambitions for the good of the family is unacceptable for a proud woman.

Excessive control, sawing and female irritation for a petty reason - I poison the lives of both. All scandals end only after the man admits his guilt and the female Ego wins. If a man is forced to praise the superiority of his wife for any petty reason, he feels humiliated. His love fades - passions rise, and he leaves the family.

What does pride lead to?

Pride is called an inferiority complex. An unhealthy sense of superiority over others does not allow a person to recognize his shortcomings, encourages him to prove his case by all means - to lie, boast, invent and dissemble. The vain and proud have developed a sense of cruelty, anger, hatred, resentment, contempt, envy and despair - which is characteristic of people who are weak in spirit. The fruits of pride are negative thoughts that generate aggressive behavior towards others.

How to get rid of pride?

Pride is called the enemy of one's own happiness. It forms a false opinion about the meaning of human life, deprives friends. Pride can destroy a family union, excludes the possibility of learning from one's own mistakes. It is not easy to overcome pride. First, it must be recognized as a negative feeling that must be suppressed and eradicated. But how to deal with pride on specific examples:

recognize the power of the Almighty over oneself, perceive oneself as a grain of sand in the ocean of the Universe; learn from people - notice their efforts, recognize the success of those who have more achievements, take a good example from them; be grateful for help and tips; do not appropriate the achievements of others to your own person , do not belittle the significance of other people's merits; share positive experience with others; show disinterested support, excluding praise and gratitude as the basis; find an authoritative person and ask to point out mistakes, shortcomings - provide targeted criticism; do not accept resentment, do not accumulate them in the soul.

Psychologists about pride

What is pride?

Below you can read about the manifestations of pride and perhaps learn a lot about yourself. Do not think that if you have manifestations of pride, then you - bad person. But the ability to recognize her traits in your personality can change you.

1. Feeling of own rightness and infallibility. I am right, others are not. I know how it should be and no one has the right to argue with me. The inability to be flexible and the unwillingness to put ourselves in the place of another leads us to quarrels and mutual enmity. The greatest manifestation of this trait of pride is the Nazi worldview. Question your principles even for a moment. Perhaps your opponent will be able to show you the world from a completely different side.

2. Self pity. The government robs me, my boss underestimates me, my friends don't understand, my wife constantly grumbles, and the children are so ungrateful. The desire to feel sorry for yourself is so sweet and relaxing, it relieves you of responsibility for your actions and makes others guilty. But does such a position decide the state of affairs? You just need to pull yourself together, stop the desire to feel sorry for yourself and blame others, and the world will become completely different - more friendly and amenable to your desires.

3. Arrogance. We use the attitude of condescension when we consider someone inferior to us: a beggar, a junior employee, a child, a weaker person, an old person, a less talented person. Do we have a right to this? Should a strong tree treat a sprout indulgently just because it is at a different stage of development?

4. Humiliation. Whether you humiliate yourself or another - it depends only on the role in the game. You can be the aggressor or the passive victim, but that doesn't make you less proud. It may seem strange: how can a person who humiliates himself be proud? He only does this because he will not tolerate others treating him the same way. Here comes the warning blow. “Oh, I look so bad today,” the woman humiliates herself. And her friend, even if she thought to herself that it was so, would still answer: “Well, what are you, you have a great hairstyle today!”. And now pride is already grinning ...

5. Indispensable. Have you ever had a secret joy that another does not succeed without your help? You are fired, and the company then loses its position - your pride rejoices. The opinion that you cannot be dispensed with makes you especially proud. “Irreplaceable people do not exist, but I am not all.” Such a position hinders the most successful development. When you leave a company, group, collective, then your place is freed up for another, more the right person, and another place is already prepared for you - also a more suitable place for you. But we, due to our limitations, are slowing down this process and are trying with all our might to return everything to its place, because it was so stable there. But what if the new place is new salary, high standing and better development?

6. Fixation on what others think. It shifts the focus and takes you away from the true goal. Wishing to be good for everyone and everyone, you do not have the strength and time to follow your real dreams. You only focus on what others will think, forgetting what you really want.

7. Boastfulness. Who is the cutest in the world? The Queen from the fairy tale about Sleeping Beauty is an archetype that is characteristic of each of us, even if buried somewhere deep in the depths of the subconscious. Boastfulness comes from low self-esteem. “Who will praise me if not myself?” It is in this case that words should not have any meaning, only actions and deeds that will be much more eloquent than ourselves.

8. Refusing help. Giving to others is welcome, taking from others is shameful. Although in fact it is a shame to pride, because any gift implies interdependence. Exchange is the basis of social life, but proud people perceive the exchange as a yoke, a shackle, which they want to get rid of as soon as possible, or even avoid it altogether.

57 signs of pride

1. Confidence in one's own constant correctness (infallibility).

2. Patronizing attitude towards others, attitude down.

3. Feeling of own exclusivity.

4. Feeling like a victim.

5. Bragging.

6. Attributing to oneself the works and merits of other people.

7. The ability to put an opponent at a disadvantage, managing people to achieve the desired.

8. Control over the situation, but without taking responsibility for the situation.

9. Displaying wealth, clothes, etc.
10. Not letting others help you and being unwilling to work with others.

11. Attracting attention to your personality with your voice, mannerisms, behavior.

12. Talkativeness or constant talk about their problems and biography.

13. Touchiness.

14. Excessive impressionability or insensitivity. Haste to jump to conclusions, or unwillingness to admit facts.

15. Excessive preoccupation with oneself, introversion.

16. Focus on what others think or say about you.

17. Using words that the listener doesn't understand and you know about.

18. Feeling worthless.

19. Refusing to change or thinking you can't.

20. Unforgiving yourself and others.

21. Dividing people into hierarchical levels - who is better or more important, then behavior in accordance with this hierarchy. Reluctance to recognize seniority.

22. Feeling that you become important when you do a particular job.

23. Take on overwork, and also find pleasure in idleness.

24. Suspicion of people and God.

25. A state of concern about what impression you make on others.

26. The thought that you are above ordinary law and are on a special mission.

27. Creation of an idol from oneself and from others.

28. Lack of free time for self-knowledge and communication due to anxiety about money.

29. Changing the manner of behavior depending on who you are dealing with. Lack of simplicity in relationships.

30. Superficiality in gratitude.

31. Ignoring "small people". Taking advantage of your position.

32. Inattention to what you are in contact with at the moment.

33. The presence of an irritable tone, intolerance to the manifestations of mistakes and shortcomings of other people.

34. The thought of teaching someone a lesson.

35. Not being aware of prejudices and not wanting to clarify them.

36. Spreading rumors and gossip.

37. Disobedience to the will of God and elders, dependence on one's own desires.

38. Dependence on everything that pleases the senses, madness.

39. Recklessness, suppressed sense of proportion.

40. Having an attitude: "My group is the best", "I will listen only to my own, and serve only them."

41. Individualism, unwillingness to be in the family and in society, and to be responsible for loved ones in prayer and practical actions.

42. Dishonesty and dishonesty in relationships.

43. Inability to understand others and come to common decisions.

44. Desire to always leave the last word behind you.

46. ​​Dependence on advice and opinions, irresponsibility.

47. Unwillingness to share their knowledge and information with others in order to be able to control them.

48. Inattention to physical body under the pretext of spirituality or excessive attention to it to the detriment of the soul.

49. The idea that it is you who should do it, because no one else can do it better.

50. Pointing out the mistakes of another in a tone of condemnation or humiliation.

51. The thought of the need to save others from their problems (both thought and action).

52. Communication and support of others, as a result of which they fall into an intellectual and emotional dependence on a mentor.

53. Changing attitudes towards people depending on their opinions, appearance, etc.

54. Neglect of external norms and rules of culture accepted in one's society and family.

55. Feeling the right to dispose of the property of others, and ignoring the norms adopted in another family.

56. Sarcasm, cynicism and rudeness in statements and feelings.

57. Lack of happiness.

Pride is the enemy within us

We all want to develop, achieve success in life, and just, in the end, be happy. But we ourselves become the main obstacle on the way to the goal. Yes, it is in ourselves that is hidden main enemy. And his name is pride.

Many people, speaking of pride, mean selfishness, exalting oneself above others. But it turns out that during the time that lives in a person, this enemy has learned to hide well under many other guises, successfully preventing us from living happily and improving. Let's figure out what kind of enemy it is and how to recognize it.

All our grievances are a manifestation of pride. It seems to us that we are so good and that we are being treated so unfairly. And we are simply taught a lesson, but pride prevents us from learning, knowing and understanding this world. We begin to close in on ourselves, and then from the same pride we have a feeling of self-pity, they say, we try so hard, but we don’t get anything good, everything is given with such difficulty, test after test, and everything is given easily to others and for nothing. We are offended that we are not appreciated - at work and at home, friends and people close to us. And all because we cannot give ourselves a true assessment, express ourselves to other people. After all, it is pride that wants everyone to notice our merits and thank us for them. It only seems to us that we are offended, annoyed, used and not appreciated at all. In fact, it is pride that sees everything in a similar color. It prevents us from building relationships with the opposite sex, with children and parents. Makes us feel jealous that someone is treated or treated better than you. As a result, all these experiences deprive us of peace. We suffer, we make others suffer, and we do not even suspect that in this or that case our pride is manifested.

How so? It just sounds incredible! What pride?! They simply do not understand me, they cannot appreciate me because they are not given, they are ignorant egoists! Many people think so.

After all, everyone can only answer for themselves. If someone really does not understand or cannot appreciate, then you need to try to explain, or accept it as it is. But we want to remake everyone and everything, but not ourselves. It is probably even difficult for many to imagine how much suffering they would have saved themselves if they realized that often their reaction to certain circumstances is so painful, not because everyone around is bad, but because pride sits deep in us. And it is impossible to satiate, to calm. She will always miss something, there will always be something wrong for her. This is that caustic feeling when we always lack something for complete happiness, no matter what we do.

Selfishness is also a manifestation of pride, but it is not self-love. After all, when you know how to love yourself, you know how to love others, and in life you cannot achieve success without interacting with the outside world. Pride, first of all, is a sense of self-importance. For a proud person, the most important thing own feelings, desires and their satisfaction. Pride gives rise to fears and laziness, unwillingness to accept new knowledge and someone's useful experience, prevents getting rid of one's unconscious habits and false concepts. We get used to a certain way of thinking and living, we cease to be flexible, we deny everything that does not fit into the picture of our worldview, and our pride fiercely defends it all. With these shields, she covers up her ignorance - failure, ignorance and inability. It seems to us that if we didn’t have our own special and dissimilar opinion on everything, we would have already died, we would have been crushed by a hostile environment. But in fact, we are protecting ourselves from ourselves. We deprive ourselves of the chance to be happy. After all, happiness is harmony with the outside world, people, and most importantly with oneself. But while pride lives in us, we cannot hear our spirit, our real “I”, the voice of our heart.

It is very difficult for a person to notice pride in himself. It's much easier to do it in someone else. But in oneself, even in the absence of self-control and awareness, it is extremely difficult to notice pride. Often, even deep introspection and revision of life circumstances also leads to a deplorable outcome, all the same disorders, all because of the same pride. But there is a way out. Try to be an outside observer to yourself. Put yourself in the place of others more often. Try in those life circumstances where you suffer or something hurts you, give yourself advice as you would give it to someone else. Listen to those around you, friends and family. They are your mirror, in them, in their behavior and attitude towards you, you can see and learn a lot about yourself. Think in these moments not about them, but about yourself. Try to understand why they behave this way with you, what preceded this on your part. Remember that the people around you and various circumstances are a reflection of yourself, and they happen in order to give you a hint, a lesson - to teach you wisdom. And, of course, most importantly, accept yourself for who you are. Be honest with yourself, appreciate yourself, but do not try to seem better than you really are, but strive to develop and become really better. Do not give pride a chance to lead you all the time by the nose and make you suffer from eternal dissatisfaction with the world around you and life in general.