I have saved this vice, pride, for last in this look at vices. Why? Because it is the hardest one for me. I truly think this is my biggest temptation. But I am not proud to admit it. I am embarrassed. I am afraid that people will think less of me.

Committing pride can be the ruination of my self and my soul as surely as committing murder.

    There it is: proof that I am too proud.

    One time I was with some friends who were confessing their shortcomings for chocolate or cigarettes or handsome men and someone said, so what is your vice, Melodie? Pride.

    Too often we suffer from pride when our children mess up, beyond the anguish we feel about a misdeed or mistake they’ve made. A note gets sent home about what my daughter has done on the bus that day. I am mortified. The behavior is bad enough, but what will the principal think of us now? That we’re terrible parents?

    We are often proud of the achievements of our children not for the joy it brings us or them, but because it makes us look good. This is a vice as bad as lust or greed or any of the rest.

    The really insidious thing is that we are also pros at making excuses for our own vices, so that even as I admit that I am proud when my children make me “look good,” I’m thinking, well, that vice certainly isn’t as bad as lust, for heaven’s sake.

    Oh yes it is. I am in denial. But my mother’s line comes back to taunt me, and this is one of those lines that you think probably isn’t actually found in the Bible, but there it is, Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” What does that mean exactly? Pride brings about a fall.

    Whew. Enron executives. Worldcom accountants. Complicit auditors for big companies. Senators. Even presidents, one who resigns and one who doesn’t have the dignity to resign. Newspaper columnist Melodie Davis. All people full of pride.

    And this isn’t just a vice found in the dusty pages of the Old Testament. No, there it is again, in plain language in Mark 7:20-22: “What comes out of you is what defiles you: out of the heart comes: evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.”

    Right down there with murder and adultery.

    And so, when I think that I am better than someone else, because I’m not so poor (or rich), or my kids don’t have pierced noses (keep your fingers crossed), or I go to worship services every week, or fill in the blank, committing pride can be the ruination of my self and my soul as surely as committing murder.

    Pride happens because we are human, and there is probably a fine line between self-esteem and pride. Pride is also a close cousin to jealousy. And envy. We are often proud because down deep we are also envious/jealous. Many otherwise well adjusted and successful people suffer from professional jealousy.

    I do hope that this admission that I suffer from excess pride is received in the spirit that it is given and intended:  I’m as dirty rotten as the next gal, but with the good Lord’s help, I am trying to keep it in check. And I hope that this confession helps others look honestly at their own weaknesses.

Grocery List Morality - 8/20/2010 7:00:00 AM

On Wednesdays over the past year, I could be found at the grocery store, list in hand.  Apples, cereal, pretzels… Check!  I brought reusable bags to save plastic, and having smiled at the cashier, assumed that I was a positive influence. | Read More...

Growing Insecurity in Latin America - 8/13/2010 7:00:00 AM

Since mid-2009, the Obama administration's relations with its Latin American counterparts have become increasingly strained. | Read More...

Summer Obesssions - 7/23/2010 7:00:00 AM

My summer has been filled to overflowing in Washington, DC, and marked by several highlights. For a section of the summer, my biggest obsession was undoubtedly football…I mean soccer…I mean World Cup. I love everything about World Cup. I love—for better or for worse—that Africa finally hosted one of the biggest tournaments in the world. I love the hype, the excitement, the crazy fans, the spectacular stories, the drama of red cards, the killer penalty shots, and the joy of players and fans when their dreams come to fruition. World Cup was glorious. World Cup had the world falling before their television sets. | Read More...

A Six Month 'Progress' Report - 7/9/2010 7:00:00 AM

Two months ago I reported on the dire situation faced by the Haitian population. July 12 will mark the six-month anniversary of the earthquake. Unfortunately, little has changed in the past two months. As international organizations and governments continue their response with well-meaning plans designed in Washington or in board rooms, most Haitians experience little progress. Hundreds of thousands are living without adequate shelter in the debris-filled city of Port-au-Prince. | Read More...

Justice Through Transparency - 7/2/2010 7:00:00 AM

In a cruel twist of irony, more than two thirds of the world’s poorest people live in countries that are rich in natural resources. Tragically, these countries’ biggest potential for economic growth and well-being is often its greatest downfall. Rather than making prudent investments, revenue from lucrative extractive industries is often mismanaged, diverted to the military, or swallowed up by corruption. | Read More...

Inherited Responsibility - 6/18/2010 7:00:00 AM

Each day, my walk to and from work takes me through old neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The cement and buildings disguise the fact that some of the federal city was once wetlands, but during the summer the nourishing rain, humidity and mosquitoes quickly remind me. | Read More...

Gaza Resources, Upcoming Middle East Peace Conference - 6/4/2010 7:00:00 AM

Israel-Palestine has been in the headlines this week, after Israel intercepted a flotilla of ships headed to Gaza with humanitarian supplies. | Read More...

"Secure the Border!" - 5/21/2010 7:00:00 AM

Its closure didn’t make the national news. It’s not a place that many from northern states have visited. But the Sabal Palm Sanctuary is a special place indeed. | Read More...