Musings on Pride

I've been thinking about pride for awhile. It's a tricky topic. We all know that pride comes before a fall, and the bible is full of stories of the proud man (who is bad) and the humble man (who is good). Yet I want to make my parents proud of me, and I am proud of my kids, and that kind of pride must be a good thing. I feel like I need some clarity on pride.

I do what any geeky computer-loving blogger would do: I head on over to m-w.com for a definition.

Pride (noun) 1 : the quality or state of being proud: as a : inordinate self-esteem : CONCEIT b : a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c : delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship (parental) 2 : proud or disdainful behavior or treatment : DISDAIN 3 a : ostentatious display b : highest pitch : PRIME 4 : a source of pride : the best in a group or class 5 : a company of lions 6 : a showy or impressive group

Aha! Now it makes more sense. Not all pride is the same. I am sure the "bad" pride that we are warned about in the bible, the kind that comes before a fall, is the conceitful or disdainful kind. Certainly it is not the company of lions. It seems to me that the bible would not warn us against having a reasonable self-respect. This is the definition that was eluding me.

I think some people, especially Christians, feel a need for a false modesty, or even the need to down-play their achievements, because of how many warnings the bible gives us about being prideful. It seems to me that there is a bad kind of pride and a good kind of pride. I wish I knew greek and hebrew so that I could look at the original word and see if there is a distinction between the two types of pride. Reasonable self-respect, delight, and elation all seem to be to be good things. We should not be apprehensive or feel guilty that we are this kind of proud.

But not prejudiced.