PRIDE

Pride was described as "crown of the virtues" as it have a good meaning or a bad one. It is an emotion that runs through us when we have accomplished some great or even when someone close to us has done something amazing. It could however be expressed in different ways such as raised shoulders, akinmbo, smiling and so on. Imagine the expression of a man who just won a tough election into a position of power.

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Yet, pride has led to the downfall of so many great and powerful people in the world. Pride, they say goes before a fall, is a popular saying. We could be perceived in a bad light when our pride looks arrogant and egocentric in nature. It is quite easy to link pride up with arrogance, envy, greed, resentment etc. I have heard about great people that lost their reputation in the society or their community due to their pride and afterwards they learnt their lesson about humility.

Pride is a habit that some people have inculcated from a tender age and it became a lifestyle that they may not be able to detach from in adulthood because they were not called to order at that time. These traits could be seen in some children when they bully other students in class because they are from a wealthy family. They are proud because they have excess money to spend during the break hours on foods and drinks. Or even because they are wearing a new pair of stocks or shoes, among others. This type of pride may have been completely eradicated at a tender age if these kids were called to order.

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Pride could also be a good thing when it is done in moderation. It becomes a bad thing when arrogance is the order of the day. A student that passed his examination in flying colors can be proud of his achievements and lift his shoulders high. Likewise, a man that won a contract and successfully executed the project can be proud of his job when it is completed. A father can be proud of his children when they do something special in school, church/mosque or in the society.

It is a fact that bad things happen in life and it is also a known fact it is easy for a proud person to be attacked by evil than someone who is not proud. A person that is not proud will get help from people around in times of trouble, while a pride and arrogant person will not attract any empathy as his downfall would be the happiness of some people.

Sometimes ago, I heard the story of a successful business mogul who has different companies in different states across the country. He is successful in terms of wealth, power and numerous connections he has accrued for himself across the world. He doesn't care about people's opinions about him and he lived a careless, reckless and non-challant life. He is full of pride that he can speak to anyone in any manner he deems fit. He has the habit of speaking to his staff as though they were nothing.

He seemed to have everything at his disposal until one day that he became very sick. He was sick to the extent that he could not do anything on his own and he had to rely on people to move from one place to another, to eat, bath and so on. However, due to the way he treated the people around him, there was no loyal person around to take care of him. Some of his staff gained free access to his bedroom to steal from him and cart away all the valuables that was making him feel powerful.

On his sick bed, he understood the importance of humility and being nice to people. He decided to turn a new leaf and stop being arrogantly proud.

I will leave you with the words of Rick Warren, "Pride builds walls between people, humility builds bridges."