The Curse of Pride

Written by: Shahrukh Yousuf A2-C4

One can only survive in this world when given a chance to voice their thoughts. But what if that chance turns into a competition? A competition to decide who has the upper hand.

This is where the seed of pride sprouts into a tree, with its roots hanging on to the heart of the individual poisoning it, corrupting his soul and consuming him completely, making one believe that they take precedence over all.

It will be worthwhile to quote John C. Maxwell, "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." Our society has blinded individuals in such a way, that they fail to see the negativity in their actions. When someone craves recognition, they are actually striving for power and superiority and this is accompanied by the curse of pride. Why is pride a curse, some would question. Well, Angels rebelled against God out of "pride", thus were thrown out of heaven and made demons. If pride can turn Angels into Demons, what are the odds for us humans? Thanks to pride, people get so lost in their ambitions, that they forget to look upon their surroundings and what the consequences of their actions are.

When one is in authority, they are likely to become selfish, insensitive and treat others like slaves. Because of this, others start ostracising him. This wounds his ego but he rarely shows it, enduring all the pain in isolation. Pride brings out the worst in a person, it awakens the devil deep in slumber within oneself. It brings out the arrogance hidden by humility; snatches out the disobedience sheltered by patience; scratches out the ego concealed by modesty and ultimately brings out the hate subsided by love.

And one is left to live in a fools paradise, wondering what might have gone wrong. Condemned by his people, his fate enforces loneliness upon himself for his crime was pride.