“…the utmost evil is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil:

Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.”

CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Strong words, eh? Pride is a particularly difficult sin to fight because it resides in our blind spots. It’s hard to see when you’re proud and, if you are proud, it can be hard to hear correction from other people. I have a friend who calls pride “the armour of hell”.

We wear our pride proudly, using it to deflect correction and advice. We reserve ourselves for the final word, refusing to humble ourselves. Since Pride can be so hard to fight, here’s 3 questions that you can ask yourself, to get insight in the battle:

Am I willing to learn from anyone? Anyone? Seriously, anyone? What about them? Surely you don’t mean them? Yeah, anyone. This doesn’t mean allowing anyone to correct you but it’s about a posture of humility that seeks to learn and grow at any opportunity.

Am I defensive? When someone offers you some correction, suggestion or insight, do you immediately go on the defensive offensive? Do you close down? What happens to your body language? Defensive? Who, me?

Do I want to have the last word? Ultimately, this is what pride is – the desire to have the final say. Whether to God or people, we always answer with a “but…”. We like to justify our actions, make sure that we win the argument or get our last comment in.