Week 8: Pride

President Ezra Taft Benson addresses us on a “very misunderstood sin,” in his talk, “Beware of Pride”, from 1989 General Conference. Every word he shares is powerfully inspired and hit me to the very core. This talk was given for me; I need this counsel! There are a few points President Benson made that resonated with me but one of the most profound was that pride is rooted in contention.
“Pride is essentially competitive in nature… The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others.”
How often do I let pride cloud my judgement? Almost daily! Anytime my pride comes into play, it is because I feel insecure in comparing myself to others. Pride seems to be a protection of our natural man against the challenge of loving others for their successes and talents. Instead of learning from each other and celebrating our differences we pit ourselves against others and strive to be seen above them. The worst of it is that I do this to the ones I love the most, such as my husband. There are times when Jake and I are arguing and I know that I could have communicated better or that I just might be in the wrong… what? Crazy, I know. I wish I could say that every time we argue, I come to my senses and swallow my pride, but the truth is, a lot of the time I don’t. Instead, we go to bed with our backs turned toward each other, neither one of us wanting to break the silence first. I have wasted so much time in my marriage competing for the title of being “right”. No title of pride is worth wasting a second with the person I love most. This goes for all of the people we come in contact with! There’s no reason to be competing against each other; we are in this together as children of the same Heavenly Father.
I appreciate President Benson concluding his address with a solution to the problem. He gives us the answer to diminishing pride in our lives. He said, “Let us choose to be humble.” Easier said than done, but he spells it out clearly for us how to obtain humility. He tells us to see others as people, just like us; to receive and listen to criticism and chastisement; to selflessly serve others; and to go to the temple more frequently.
I often correct and criticize my husband’s behavior but I seldomly take his critiques well, and he is much nicer about it than I am! I can take President Benson’s counsel to heart and have a long list of things to work on for the rest of my life. I know that heeding to his counsel will bring about great things in my marriage as I strive for humility.

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