We all have it. From time to time, it comes out in ugly ways. And as parents, we see it in our kids. But if we’re honest, we know they probably learned it from us. That’s where the idea for this talking about pride cartoon came from.
One moment, we’re doing pretty good with handling pride. The next moment, we believe we are royalty and deserve the red carpet treatment. That’s just human nature, isn’t it? We all believe we deserve to be king or queen.
Like most English words, pride is a nuanced word that can have both good and bad meanings. I like what John Maxwell says about pride and humility.
“There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.”
John C. Maxwell
Just when we think we have humility figured out, it causes us to experience pride. The poor guy in the cartoon hasn’t figured this dilemma out yet.
We consider leaders to be people with huge egos. And it does take self-confidence and bravado to rise up through the ranks of any organization or field. However, Ken Blanchard reminds me the biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego.
“The biggest obstacle that stalls leaders’ growth is the human ego. When leaders start to think they know it all, they stop growing.”
Ken Blanchard
We stop growing when we begin to think we know it all. After all, why stop growing if you’ve reached the pinnacle of knowledge and accomplishment? The ego is very good at stunting our growth.
And in an ever-changing world, it is foolish to believe we know it all in any and every situation. If the situation changes, how can past knowledge possibly account for that?
We experience this roadblock whenever we present a new idea and someone says, “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” Or, “The old way got us here. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not only does ego keep us from growing, but it also stops us from moving forward.
Pride and haughtiness blind us. The moment we think we know it all is the moment we have chosen to close our eyes to possibilities. We stop thinking and start making excuses.
When a leader decides they know it all, they stall their growth. As a result, the organization they lead stalls. It may be subtle at first. It can take years to see the results. But slowly and surely, the organization begins to die.
A leader who lets ego define them soon finds their influence dying. Without growth, there is death. And without the humility to change, people and organizations tend to fade away.
The biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego. Let’s remember to have the humility and courage to acknowledge we don’t know everything.
There was a time when I would read the Old Testament and would smirk at how the Israelites would stumble and fall. Today, I realize no matter who we are, we all must take care to see whether we stand or fall. The Apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 10.
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
Paul warned us that we are no better than anyone else. If God was with the Israelites in the wilderness, if He gave them everything they needed to survive, and yet they still made mistakes of unfaithfulness and sin, what makes us think they would be any different.
Pride blinds us from seeing potential trouble. It makes us believe we can do no wrong. Then when our sins are exposed, it keeps us from admitting we messed up. It happened to King David, and the scriptures say he was a man after God’s own heart. What makes us think it couldn’t happen to us?
When I am at a factory, there are signs everywhere that remind me of hazards. There are potentials to slip, trip, and fall on every factory floor. The person who thinks it will never happen to them is the one most likely to end up in the emergency room.
We don’t avoid slipping hazards by thinking it will never happen to us. Every factory employee knows slips, trips, and falls can happen anywhere if they aren’t paying attention. Pride comes before a fall.
On this Sunday morning, I plan to take a time of self-examination. What am I not seeing that could be potential trouble? Am I looking down on someone that is no worse than me? Could it be that their fall is a warning to me?
We may think we are standing when in reality, we may be on the ground in the muck of the gutter. It’s very sobering to remind myself that there are slip and trip hazards all around us.
Our society has tried to make pride a good thing. Perhaps it is because it is too broad of a word in the way we use it today. We tie pride to our self-worth, joy, dignity, and delight. But it can also be used to describe an inflated ego, haughtiness, disdain toward others, and a refusal to consider another’s opinion.
When I drew this cartoon, I thought of the many times I let pride trip me up. It has caused me to look down on others. It has also caused me to be too stubborn to change for the better. It’s why I value this proverb so much:
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
Pride gets us in trouble when we can’t see the other person’s point of view. It leads to our destruction when we can’t work with others and refuse to grow because it may cause us to admit we were wrong about something.
I am proud of my wife and kids. I am proud of the work I have been able to do and the living I have made the last several decades. But may I not be too proud to learn from someone else. May I be humble enough to admit when I’m wrong and change course. May I keep my nose down and open my eyes before I fall into a manhole. And may I not be so proud of missing the first one, that I fall into the second one.
