PRIDE…THE 7TH “DEADLY” SIN!

I’m “A Recovering Catholic”.  As a child in Catholic school, I enjoyed an intense romance with the Catholic church. I was enamored by the pomp and circumstance of it while feeling a bit terrorized as well.

Females were always required to wear a head covering in church. I had quite an array of great little hats. I fancied myself as Gigi. If I forgot to bring my hat to church, the nuns were standing ready, with bobby pins and Kleenex in hand, to pin on my head. (No doubt they wanted to insure my seat in heaven.) Sometimes I’d  sneak into my mother’s drawer and snag her mantilla (a long lace scarf that drapes over the head and shoulders) and pretend to be Jackie Kennedy.

Occasionally I had to go to confession twice because sometimes when I couldn’t think of any sins I’d committed, I’d improvise and extemporize. Then I’d confess to my previous lying in confession, the following week.

How much sinning can a 7 year old do? Required weekly confessions almost encouraged sin. If you told the priest you couldn’t think of anything you did that was bad, he’d always find something on your behalf. And oddly enough, the fewer the sins, the greater the penance. WTF! I never understood this.

As is often the case with any intense romance, mine (with Catholicism) waned as I got older. Although I am a very spiritual person, I’m not a fan of organized religion.

That being said…

I was working on some stuff for this gig that’s coming up. I agonized what to use for a picture. That’s silly. It’s about the music. Duh! Why all the drama?

When I lost 50 pounds, I was frequently surprised when looking in the mirror, or taking “Selfies” for online dating, to see myself as attractive. I couldn’t own the fact that I might be pretty. I’d tell myself, “Your face looks good, but your body is a mess! Or “You’re just very photogenic. You don’t look that good!”

You may be thinking, “This chick has serious self-esteem issues.” Not really. If I did , I wouldn’t able to sometimes see myself as a “cutie” sometimes…

HOWEVER over my entire life, any time I felt pride over an accomplishment, I peppered it with some form of shame or self denigration.  Which is not only counterproductive, it’s BULLSHIT!

WHY? It makes NO sense! There’s a HUGE disconnect there.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s the influence of the church! “Pride” s one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

I believe this mentality of pride paving the road to hell, has its roots in a desire to keep man down and feeling crappy about himself or herself, placing the church in a superior position.

I’m not about slamming the church BTW. No point.

In many cases the word “arrogance” is included in passages about pride.  Perhaps it’s just an antiquated use of the word. Arrogance is not the same!

Here are some quotes from the Bible (albeit via google) about pride…

 “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

“A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.”

That just PISSES ME OFF!!!

When the church needs money, who do they turn to? The poor? The humble? NO! They go to the proud “asshole” who’s worked his/her tusch off to make a good living for himself/herself, his/her family and (in some cases) his/her workers, who may also share a sense of pride.

People who take pride in their work are probably the most productive people there are!

If you’ve done something you’re proud of, BE PROUD!

You don’t have to be an arrogant jerk and rub people’s noses in it. But take stock in yourself and your accomplishments. Be proud in your ability to recognize them and in the knowledge that you have just fueled yourself to go further than you previously thought possible!

I’m so tired of giving myself “left handed compliments”.

I am on a mission to succeed and it’s forcing me to drop as much old baggage as possible.

I don’t move as fast in my 50’s as I did in my 20’s. I intend to compensate by packing lighter and carrying less baggage…

From now on, when I see an obstacle I’ve successfully overcome, I intend to take just a moment to savor it. Without fear of reprisal from God or anyone else!

And finally… THAT is the point of this post!

p.p. Couldn’t help but notice that “lust” is also on the list. That says it all. Without lust, none of us would be here! I’m grateful for lust!

As always, thanks for taking the time to read, comment, like and/or follow my blog. It means so much to me. I’m getting a huge kick out of it and you! Thanks!