Week 4 Sanga
Sanga 4: Defining Pride
What is our definition of Pride? How dangerous is pride? Is pride always bad? Do we think being proud is the worst mindset?
Content:
Watch this video
Think of a situation in which you struggled with pride
Discussion:
Which definitions of pride from the video resonated with you? Some think it is the worst vice that leads to all the others – that it is the complete anti-God state of mind. Other’s think it drives our success. Which of these opposing viewpoints do you agree with?
What about - ‘the more pride someone has, the more one dislikes pride in others’? The fact is that each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride. It is because I want to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise!
The difference between pride and all our other ‘bad habits/qualities’ is that pride is, by nature, competitive. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something - only having more of it than the next person does. We say that people are proud of being rich, cleaver or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer or better-looking than others. The comparison makes them proud.
If I am a proud man, then, as long as there is one man in the whole world more powerful, or richer, or cleverer than I, he is my rival and enemy.
Close the discussion with our own experiences with pride and noticing our own tendencies - maybe for the first time. How did the situation affect us? Did we choose to deal with it or just accept it? What is the best way to do deal with these situations?