Error, Deadly Sin, And Christ-Chapter 3
The Queen that Hides: Pride
“It is difficult to avoid a sin, on account of its being hidden. On this way it is difficult to avoid pride, since it takes occasion even from good deeds…Hence Augustine says pointedly that it "lies in wait for good deeds."[1]
Navigating the worst of all sins, and the cause of all subsequent sins requires a fearlessness to pierce our own soul with an honest, investigative, examination. Such a fearless disposition requires courage, and humility, all of which cannot exist in an absolutely prideful soul. Yet, one cannot really be absolutely prideful in regard to our nature which is made for humility. It is the case that within man there is always some spark of goodness, a nature disposed toward the truth. So we cannot begin the exploration of Pride as though it as at the root of our existence. This would be a lie of the enemy who conflates our sin with our good, God-given nature. It happens that when exploring our own self, without a good, secure sense of our own identity, we run the risk of allowing our sinful inclinations to define ourselves. Man cannot begin to pierce his own soul with an honest gaze if he does not first know that he was created good. We would get far too lost in the mire of ugly sin, and lose a sense of that foundational blessing in which all grace builds off of: a good nature. God has given us the grace of a good-nature which always has an appetite for the truth, even as we sin. This appetite is not present in us due to any virtue, but rather is a fundamental disposition, universally present to all human beings. This means we must recognize that at the depth of our being is an identity that wishes to magnify the truth, rather than suppress its discovery.
[1] ST II-II q. 162 a. 6 reply 1
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