Why I’m Glad We Put Pride at the Top

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pride, sin, sinning like a christian, william willimon

Sinning Like a Christian // 02

Pride is often placed at the fount of the Seven, supposedly being the one from which all the others flow. I like this move for three reasons.

First, it reminds us that sin is as likely to thrive among good people as bad people. Good people generally have lots more to be proud about.

Second, it proves that we’d never know what sin is apart from the particular story of God’s full revelation in Jesus. We tend to celebrate pride – take pride in your school, your team, your country, your family, etc. I’m not saying all of this is bad, but surely it isn’t all good either. We must learn that pride is a sin – that it causes us not to see ourselves in the truest light, that it teaches us to compare and compete, that it blocks the flow of God’s life into ours.

And third, it forces us to square with the fact that sin is about God.

What’s so bad about sin?

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crucifixion, sin, sinning like a christian, william willimon

Sinning Like a Christian // 01

Have you ever thought about how boring most sin is? Particularly the so-called seven deadly ones: pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. In Sinning Like a Christian, Will Willimon begins by admitting how mundane these sins seem to be – how normal, how simple, how uninteresting when compared to other sins. As he puts it, “Gluttony, lust, and pride, while not the most attractive of personal attributes, can hardly compete with sexism, racism, and the bloodletting actions of [insert hated politician here]” (14). Or again, “Hitler’s genocide is so much more significant and interesting than my inner thoughts about Nicole Kidman” (21).