In the last several issues of the Bulletin, I have been sharing thoughts about St. John Climacus’ 23 Step on his Ladder of Divine Ascent. His ladder presents the incremental steps we must go through in order to become truly transformed children of God. The 23 Step is PRIDE. Pride deals with how we see ourselves in God’s creation. C.S. Lewis wrote this:

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all.

This is why, according to Christian Tradition, pride was the sin that brought down the devil. Most sins, particularly bodily sins, can often be put down to weakness, to our limited condition. The devil had no such weakness or condition to contend with, according to Christian tradition. His sin was pure, unadulterated pride. Thus it is the most demonic sin of all.

This is why it easily works its way into the very fabric of spiritual life by wearing the guise of piety. Pride is, ultimately, the worship of our own selves, and so God can even become a pious euphemism for the ego. The greatest danger of religious faith is to glorify ourselves in God’s name.

Religious people are frequently guilty of such a charade. We say, It’s God will, but what we really mean is, It’s my will. We hear people say things like, God told me to run for president; God wants me to be an entrepreneur; God wants me to be a priest, or some such thing, but what we really mean by God is I. Pride is the deadliest sin because it often disguises itself as faith. And just as the devil was guilty of no other sin but pride, so too pride can condemn a Christian who has committed no other sins. But if pride alone can condemn us, it is possible that humility can save us. St. John deals with humility in the 25th Step. While we should not depreciate ourselves, we also should not aggrandize ourselves.