"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you." - C.S. Lewis
I am well aware that "Pride goeth before a fall," but lately I have thinking about what causes pride to be such a powerful vice. I have long held to C.S. Lewis' idea that "evil is only spoiled goodness." That is to say that evil does not exist on it's own, but is only a corruption of things that were made to be good. I believe that this idea is both logical and biblical, and it leads me to consider: "What is the pure fulfillment of my corrupted desire which cause me to sin?"
The case of pride is an extremely complicated sin to consider because it is so pervasive in our society. Everything in our society preaches that at the end of the day the number one priority is you. Pop psychology teaches that the most important thing is to love yourself. Popular culture teaches that the person with the most toys wins. The brilliant Garrison Keillor refers to popular websites MySpace and Facebook as "exercises in narcissism." Even philanthropic exhibitions such as Oprah's Big Give completely ignore Christ's teaching, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4). Even charity has become further opportunity for ego inflation.
This complete obsession with the self is also moving into churches as sermons move from having Jesus as the main character to having people as the main character. I recently heard a very influential pastor teaching on Jesus' walking on the water saying:
I always assumed that Peter doubts Jesus. But Jesus isn't sinking. Who does Peter doubt? He doubts himself. He loses faith in himself that he can actually be like his rabbi. Jesus wouldn't have called him if he didn't think he could be like him.
I'm sorry, but short of talking about flying spaghetti monsters, I don't think there is a worse interpretation of this story from Matthew 14. This story is not about Peter's faith in Peter, it's about Peter's faith in Jesus. In fact, I don't think that the placement of this story is a coincidence. In Matthew's gospel, this story comes only one chapter after Jesus' parable of the "Sower and the Soils." Peter began to sink as "he saw the wind" and "was afraid" (Matthew 14:30). I think in this instance Peter might be a parallel to the seed that fell in the rocky soil which Jesus explains, "yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away" (Matthew 13:21).
I say all of this only to show that people are completely and utterly focused on themselves. But I do not consider this to be a sign of hopelessness. Thomas Traherne once wrote that, "The noble inclination whereby man thirsteth after riches and dominion, is his highest virtue." This may seem counter intuitive. It seems like the selfish focus of seeking money and power should be a vice which should be abhorred. But Traherne makes it more clear with the whole quote:
The noble inclination whereby man thirsteth after riches and dominion, is his highest virtue, when rightly guided; and carries him as in a triumphant chariot, to his sovereign happiness. Men are made miserable only by abusing it. Taking a false way to satisfy it, they pursue the wind.
I think what Traherne is getting at is the fact that the part of every person which makes us want money and power, is the same part of every person which makes them desire God. Riches and dominion were never meant to fulfill the deepest desires of our heart. We think being seen, recognized and envied by all people will ultimately make us happy, and in thinking so way we have never been so wrong and never been so right. Being in famous in front of people will never make us happy, and in the case of many celebrities, might make us go insane. However, it is about being known, by the one who knows us better than we know ourselves...God.
About this intimacy with God the Apostle Paul writes, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). For Paul, a large part about being in a relationship with God is being known by him. Jesus says much the same when he states:
On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
(Matthew 7:22-23)
Apparently it is actually of the utmost importance to be known by God. I think this is why the gospel stands in such stark opposition to self-centeredness. If the focus is on our own comfort, we will never know true contentment. If the focus is on our own appearance, we can never recognize the true beauty of God. If the focus of our worship is on the created and not the creator, we are idolaters and pagans (Romans 1:25). If I am too busy worrying about my own glory, Jesus will ask us, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God" (John 5:44)?
So what is the answer to this self-centeredness? The gospel. The gospel of a king of came to serve. The gospel of the sinless who became sin. The gospel of the Creator suffering at the hands of the created. The gospel which "opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). C.S. Lewis once wrote, "'Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will not be raised again if it submits to death.'" This is the gospel. Losing our lives that we may be found in Him. Only then will we find any significance.
