The most deadly sin of the 7 Deadly Sins is Pride.
This is the sin that caused problems for Satan and for Adam and Eve and it constantly causes problems for us.
So what is Pride theologically? It is arrogating to one's self the distinct prerogative of God.
This is what Augustine labeled as becoming Egotistic and living for one's self.
However we have to remember that when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we died to self. You see when we make Jesus the Lord of our life, then we no longer focus on what we want but instead what He wants. That is the discipled life of a Christian. The early church made this very clear that we are to follow the example in the Bible that we must pick up our cross (die to ourself) to be able to follow him. We can't do our will and say He is Lord. It just will not work.
The antidote (heavenly virtue) to pride is Humility.
If we learn to be humble then pride just sort of gradually gets pushed aside.
The humble or (penitent man) humbles himself to others and serves instead of demanding service.
In Dantes Divine Comedy we see that to purge the sin of pride the individual has a big boulder placed on his shoulders. This is not to punish but instead to put the man into a position of being humble and bowing down. Unless you understand the root word of humble (earth/ground) this could pass your understanding.
During this time of Lent, contemplate the sin of pride and see if it has ahold of you and look for ways to purge yourself of that sin.
Blessings to you all!
Fr. John Mozingo
Vicar
Holy Cross Anglican Church
Winterville, NC