The sin of pride

The lecture addresses the sin of pride as the greatest and first of sins, by which the devil and the chief of the angels fell, and how pride begets many sins and leads to spiritual ruin. The speaker shows that pride corrupts the heart and prevents the person from submission to the church and to God, while humility opens the door of God’s grace and preserves gifts.

The spiritual and educational dimension (from a Coptic Orthodox faith perspective)

• Pride is presented as the source of the fall of heretics and innovators, and the Holy Scripture indicates that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
• Biblical examples are mentioned (the fall of Lucifer, the story of Adam and Eve, Job, the apostle Paul) to show how the sin of pride appears and is treated by humility and by the trials God sends to guard the heart.

Manifestations of pride and its effects

• Pride appears in external appearance (walking, speech, clothing), in boasting of talents and abilities, and in despising others and not respecting elders and youngsters alike.
• Pride leads to arrogance, hatred, envy, stubbornness, rebellion, and spiritual and psychological deterioration (such as a sense of grandeur or persecution complex).

Examples from the lives of the saints and the church

• The speaker mentions how God prevents the rising of hearts by granting trials and sorrows to the gifted (like Paul who was given a thorn in the flesh).
• The humility of saints is praised such as the Mother of God, Macarius, and Anba Antony, and how humility preserved them from the snares of the devil.

Remedies and practical guidance

• Ask God for humility when He grants talents, and accept trials and pains as a means to preserve the heart from elevation.
• Respect elders, listen silently in the presence of the elders, do not boast of virtues, and avoid criticizing others or showing their faults.

Spiritual conclusion

Humility is the essential virtue that preserves a person from pride and his fall. The church chooses the weak and humble so that no heart may be raised before God, and God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

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