Gratitude And Pride
/Gratitude and Pride
Can’t live side by side.
You must choose one or the other…
If you choose Pride, run for cover!
First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. The Message (MSG) Proverbs 16:18
Gratitude comes with the awareness that all good things come from heaven and that ”I can of mine own self do nothing” (John 5:30 KJV).Gratitude reflects Satisfaction with God’s handiwork and with our best efforts or “personal best.”
Gratitude can express itself as Satisfaction, which is a healthy sense of worthiness and integrity. Both Gratitude and Satisfaction are emotional rewards for a job well done. Here are some feelings of Satisfaction:
- accomplished, balanced, comfortable, dignified, excellence,
- flexible, fulfilled, honorable, in-order, overcoming, personal best,
- playful, positive pride, righteous, truthful, tuned in, worthy.
The Pride presented in this short poem is a negative pride. Unlike Gratitude and Satisfaction, with this Pride we compare ourselves to others in order to feel better or superior to them.
This negative Pride is the flip-side of shame. We pump ourselves up and focus on the ways we may be superior to avoid feeling shame. Here are some feelings associated with negative Pride:
- arrogant, better-than, boastful, cold, condescending, contemptuous, critical,
- disdaining, judgmental, lusted-after, one-up, perfectionist, pitying,
- well-positioned, prejudiced, self-righteous, self-satisfied, shameless,
- stiff-backed, superior, uncompromising, vain.
