Pride vs Prideful

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.  So, what’s the difference between having pride and being prideful?

In our society, it’s difficult to get ahead. Let’s face it, the job market is tough. In many ways, you have to ‘toot your own horn’ in order to get a job and keep it.  Stating what you have done for the company and feeling good about it, to me, is not prideful.  It’s ok to feel good about those accomplishments.

The problem comes in, for me anyway, is when I start feeling like I did it all by myself. “I increased productivity 10%, I made a program that better tracks our costs, I decreased job turnover.”  Well, I did do those things, and it’s ok for me to state that to those I work for. It’s an accounting of what I have done in exchange for my wages.  I just have to keep in mind that I didn’t do it alone or without God’s help.

Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.  Galatians 6:4

Do you ever feel like you’re the ‘king of the world’ – or at least your world?  Do you ever feel like all you have in your life you’ve built, all the things you’ve accomplished you have done, and all the breaks you have gotten you made?Have you ever heard the expression, ‘A Self-Made Man’? Well, there’s no such thing. No one ‘makes it’ alone.  God was behind every break, every opportunity, and the creator of you  and I – who carried out these ‘duties’.

Your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 8:14

That’s the difference between pride and prideful: It’s ok to be proud of accomplishments, just remember that God is the one from whom all blessings flow. They may flow through us, but they do not originate with us.

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