By David Wright
Christians acknowledge personal sin, but we tend to separate wrongs into two categories: “big sins” and “little sins.” It is often said that minor transgressions are the things I do, while major offenses are the things others do. Some people do seem to think this way, but it is perhaps more common for the church to believe that the big sins are trespasses associated with social disgrace. A person has sinned big if he has committed adultery, embezzled money, trafficked in drugs, murdered a neighbor, or performed an abortion.
This view overlooks a very serious offense. Pride may parade itself with little fear of public censure, yet it is utterly abominable to God. Arrogance corrupts the heart with selfishness, poisons the mind toward others made in the divine image, incites rebellion against the Lord, and stands in the way of repentance and salvation. Solomon lists “six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Prov. 6:16-19, NIV). This catalogue of abominations certainly includes socially shameful things, such as lying lips and bloody hands, but what item heads the list?
The Christian guilty of pride may deal with this sin in one of two ways. On the one hand, he may wait for God to humble him, to bring him crashing down. This was the course chosen by Israel in the desert. Moses said, “You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger” (Deut. 8:2-3). On the other hand, a Christian may choose to humble himself by passionately seeking and imitating Jesus. For obvious reasons, this is the better choice.
