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There's a huge difference between healthy pride and unhealthy vanity. For starters, pride can come from things you didn't even do -- and people who are not you
by ahoyhere 15y ago
There's a huge difference between healthy pride and unhealthy vanity.
For starters, pride can come from things you didn't even do -- and people who are not you. You can be proud of your kid. You can be proud of your student. You can be proud of your husband, wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, parents, friends, etc.
It's good to be proud when people you care about accomplish something they struggled with, something difficult, something important.
And, you are a person you care about. (Or at least, you should be.)
Pride means giving yourself credit where credit is due. In enjoying the things you worked hard to achieve.
Nowhere in the dictionary definition of "pride" will you find "holding yourself above other people, thinking you're better than them and better than Creation, blah blah blah."
Vanity, on the other hand, is defined as excessive pride. We've all known vainglorious jerks who had excessive pride.
And we've also all known people who were good people, who did good work, who worked hard, who did hard things -- who had insufficient pride, who didn't give themselves enough credit, who wrote off all their accomplishments and generally made themselves (and the people who loved them & wanted the best for them) miserable.
I'm honestly shocked that (at writing) the 2 top-level comments on this article are "Pride is a sin" and "I try not to be 'proud' of things I've done".
Where's the evidence that pride is bad, guys? Do you have something other than the Bible to back you up?
- wollw 15y agoI essentially agree with you but it is important to understand that pride has its failings, even without being what I would consider excessive. By being proud you put yourself in the position of having your pride wounded. This is distinct from lacking pride somewhat like lacking feeling while having surgery if different than having to feel every cut. On the other hand, pride can be very important in giving the self-confidence and motivation needed to improve oneself and one's skills.
- ahoyhere 15y agoYou're taking the word "pride" and talking about it as if it were a physical thing that really exists. "Wounded pride" is something that can happen to anyone, regardless of whether they give themselves credit for their achievements. "Wounded pride" really means "wounded self-image" -- everybody has a self-image, regardless of how good or bad it is.
- wollw 15y agoMaybe my understanding of pride is flawed but let me put it another way. By holding an opinion or expectation of oneself (or another) you're setting yourself up for disappointment in the case that the opinion or expectation is challenged. If I pride myself as highly knowledgeable in some field and someone comes along and points out all the flaws in my knowledge then it's probably going to hurt. If I don't pride myself on this sort of knowledge then it won't force me to reconsider my self-view in the same way. The flip side being that if I pride myself on this sort of knowledge that very pride may be the impetus that makes me actually go out and learn the things I don't know.