Pride Goeth Before The Fall

11 Jan

“Pride is one of the most, if not the most horrible sin that any human being can be guilty of. Pride is the sin that turned an archangel into a devil.”  ~ Unknown

When I was younger, the story of the Titanic really struck me.  To hear about a ship that so many people declared “unsinkable” sinking and taking the lives of so many was disturbing to me.  Why did the ship sink?  Why could they not save everybody on board?  Why did they think they were unsinkable?  All those questions would run through my young mind.

Those same questions still remain with me to this day.  I think about the folly of so many people then who thought that they were untouchable and, in the process, not even providing enough life boats to accommodate each and every person on board.

Pride goeth before the fall.  We have heard that phrase so many times in our lives, have we not?  That phrase definitely fits the situation of the Titanic.  It fits many other historical situations as well.  Famines, wars, natural disasters: many of these did not have to be.  Yet, it was because of the pride of others that they came about.

Today’s first reading at Mass was all about pride.  The Israelites had become a proud, sinful people.  They felt that God would walk with them and defend them from all their enemies even if they turned their backs to God’s law.  They found themselves facing the Philistines, a fierce enemy.  In their pride and their arrogance, they fell before the Philistines.  30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed and the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Israelites.

How often does pride cause us to presume upon God’s love, mercy, and/or protection?

FAITH ACTION:  Do you take credit when credit is due to another or due to God?  Give recognition to the appropriate person/people today.