In his beloved book; Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis describes one of the most destructive and dangerous sins of humanity. This pernicious threat, disguising itself as a rose in full bloom, is a weed that grows ever thick inside the soul, corrupting the heart and mind while choking out the life of the believer. This weed is pride. In the chapter titled The Great Sin, Lewis elucidates the power that pride has over humanity that is far too often overlooked in our present society. Let us examine Lewis’s ideas about pride while also summarizing his main ideas into four points: the duel, the disguise, the disease, and the defeat.
First, pride creates a duel between ourselves and those around us. Competition and comparison are two factors that pride is reliant on. We are in constant need of communion and relationships with others; however, because of the fall, we wish to be the best in our circles. Lewis explains that hubris exists because of the human desire to be the greatest. But, if competition and comparison ceased to exist, pride would also. When comparing and competing with others to be the best, one either becomes prideful because he believes that he is the best, or he becomes insecure because he realizes that he is not. The duel of pride leads to discontentment and conceit, a detriment for both involved. Not only does this hinder our ability to love those around us, but it also hinders our ability to worship our creator. We become too preoccupied looking down on those around us with the spirit of selfish competition and comparison that we do not remember to look up to the one who has lavished us with relationships and fellowship. In fact, while God would be justified in looking down at us because of our rebellion, He chooses to look upon us with a gentleness and lowliness. How much more is God worthy of our praise in light of this? This duel, created by pride, destroys the blessing of fellowship that has been generously given to us.
Secondly, our self-righteousness disguises itself as a virtue. Far too often, pride pretends to support our spiritual health by helping us overcome our carnal desires. Pride can kill our sins related to the flesh, but our self-righteousness leads to dangers much greater. Lewis mentions that pride has the power to encourage self-control within ourselves. For example, in order to bolster his reputation to others, the prideful man will be motivated to practice and learn self-control. Lewis refers to this as the “dictatorship of pride”—the ability to overcome smaller or lesser sins, while, in turn, replacing those “lesser” transgressions with a spiritual sin that is more deadly. Our present society has fallen for this disguise by endorsing extreme individualism and urging people to focus on themselves. Tragically, though perhaps not surprisingly this has created a harmfully individualistic society that struggles with mental health issues, insecurities, and conceit.
Thirdly, pride is a disease that infects our spiritual health and the fruits of faith. Pride disguising itself as a blessing, is what Lewis refers to as the “complete anti-God state of mind.” The existence of pride in our lives is the complete opposite of what we are called to do as Christians. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Pride helps overcome other “smaller” sins by making us believe we are better than that sin by appealing to our self-respect. However, pride is much worse than our carnal sins. We can still struggle in the flesh, or what Lewis refers to as our “animal desires” and still be followers of Christ. But pride, if left unchecked, hinders our ability to “deny ourselves” as Jesus calls us to do. This cancerous disease destroys the possibility of loving and serving others, being content and thankful for the blessings in our lives—all things we should be practicing as believers.
Lastly, Lewis provides us with a way to defeat pride. Pride is a challenging sin to conquer. However, Lewis leaves his readers with hope by presenting a way to slowly overcome it. The practice of humility plays a crucial role in resurrecting us from the spiritual death that our self-righteousness— our anti-God way of thinking—leads to. Humility severs the cords of pride, freeing us from the power of sin, and providing the fruits of faith to flourish in our lives. Additionally, Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Eternal blessings exist when we strive to obtain a humble and modest character, a character shaped by Christ.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis reminds believers, and all people, about one of the deadliest sins, and prompts us to take action against it. Pride allows a fatal weed to blossom inside of ourselves, while simultaneously planting seeds of insecurity and hatred in others. Through the intricate working of the Holy Spirit to prompt humility in our lives, our duty as little Christ’s can come into fruition. With the blossoming of humility, the fruits of our faith can bring the light of God’s glory into a world that is in desperate need of rescuing.
