Pride: A Blessing or Destruction? -By Yusuf Abdulbasit Hozaifah

The word ‘pride’ has two meanings, while one is used in good sense of one’s own worth, the other is used to mean negative value, an unreasonable overestimation of one’s own superiority which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve and often contempt of others. The one meant by this writer is the latter which describes someone as proud and arrogant.

According to Wikipedia, pride means, “Having an exaggerated sense of feeling good. This might mean that someone has no respect for what other people do, only respect for what he or she does.” This type of pride leads one into extinction if the victim doesn’t change.

By extension, the word ‘Pride’ is an act of feeling better than others, not acknowledging the help of others, not recognizing God as one’s helper and taking the praise of people on what God does through you. It is the act of expressing what one can do or what one has done in a boastful manner.

Pride is ensuring oneself the great power and exceptional ability to do all things. It makes one look at others as Inferior and have the thoughts of superiority over them.

Too much pride can inhibit one from success, it pushes people who might want to contribute positively to one’s life away. Helping hands who may want to help the proud person will think he has gotten everything in life, meanwhile, he’s just somebody who is proud and arrogant without possessing any power.

Hearts filled with pride find it difficult to learn from others, they see themselves as islands of knowledge and become easily aggressive over minor corrections made by others.They believe they are ideal and perfect and they always see corrections made to them as criticism.

Pride has led to the fall of thrones and kingdoms, even those in higher positions—it has led many fame to shame. Also, pride can make a king to feed on grass like a goat and make the son of butcher feed on bones.

Furthermore, pride has robed many students and their blessings because they thought they were better than their helpers, the fact that you are brilliant in the class today doesn’t make you the most successful, the dullards in your class today may later be more prosperous than others in the future.

Whatever the position you find yourself, always be humble and calm. Pride is a destroyer, just like a bomb. Although, you may be brighter in knowledge and brilliant, it’s just a test from your creator, fear God and decide to be humble. No one has ever got away with pride, if you are from a rich background, don’t boast but extend thankful hands to God and pray for humility.

When people shower praises on you for having some exceptional qualities such as brain ,money, intelligent or beauty, always remain humble and remember that nothing lasts forever.

On a final note, a humble and submissive person will gain the heart of people around him. Don’t feel yourself as all sufficient, pride often leads to failure. All of our certificates, fame and other achievements will be left by us one day. Don’t let pride bring you down before you change, a life that’s filled with proud tends to end in destruction.