Pride

Is it possible that all men have committed ALL sins? That sin is committed in the heart, not just in real life; that all sin relates to self-gratification. If this is the case then surprisingly enough, Pride is the most dangerous of vices, for on being offered amnesty and freedom, it alone would decline. For to accept mercy is an admission of guilt for previous misdemeanours. Salvation is after all an unconditional surrender; the fear is that the 'self' would be destroyed, and Man reduced to an automaton. In reality the opposite is true, for our selfishness enslaves us and gradually our souls become embalmed in the deceit of our own desires.

Most other sins can be seen as barricades which are built for our self-protection; even the most heinous of crimes may be forgiven, if the heart is melted. How we deceive ourselves; for pride in all its disguises is the least obvious of all. Those who wish salvation merely to perpetuate their own existence may fool those around, by kind words, brave gestures and moral conduct. Ironically, their pretence may not be deliberate, but simply instinctive. It is difficult to know which is worse: whether evil is a form of lie or whether it is an ingrained characteristic of one's personal make-up. We, however, know we must die, in order to live. How liberating it is to be free from self-desire; to wish only to do God's will.