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Christ declares the end of humility and pride, saying: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11). A guide to overcoming pride and gaining humility: There is no need for a person to ascend. Are you proud for the sake of honor and glory, which, like smoke or like a bubble on water, disappears? Are you proud of wealth? But it, like money, passes from hand to hand, and if it is also collected by untruth, then it is disastrous for you, because someone else, whom you do not expect and do not want, will get it, but the harm will remain for you. Are you proud for the sake of reason? God gives understanding and wisdom; if He takes away what is his, then you will be the craziest of all. Are you proud of beauty and strength? But she, like a grass flower, withers and dries up from the heat of disease. Are you proud for the sake of nobility? It is your ancestors’, not yours; they deserve it, not you: to boast about someone else’s is just as crazy as to show off someone else’s dress. Are you proud for the sake of virtue? If it truly is in you, it is God’s business, not yours: what do you have that you did not receive? (1 Cor. 4:7). When God takes away His own, only your sins will remain. What else? Why will you boast? Look at your birth, arrogant soul: who is born with great difficulty and illness if not a man? Look at upbringing: what animal requires more attention, care, cleansing, nutrition, care until it grows up, if not a human? Many animals immediately after birth get food for themselves, but how long does a person spend time running around with someone else’s hands, dressing himself, feeding himself with someone else’s labor, keeping warm, and being preserved! Look at the content of your life: who is more careful about food and drink if not man? Look at the clothes: where did you get them from? A sheep, a hare, a fox, a wolf, a lynx, a bear dresses you: you are so wretched that you don’t even have your own clothes. Look at your condition: who is subject to great troubles, passions, corruption, illnesses, infirmities, if not a person? Who is more subject to fear, sadness, sorrow, and vanity than man? Surrounded by disasters everywhere: sins behind, death ahead, the judgment of God above, hell below, the temptations of the world and the machinations of demons on the sides, passions inside - is it possible to be proud in such a disaster? Look also at your beginning and end: you are earth, and to earth you will go (Gen. 3:20). Penetrate into the tombs and discern there the king from the warrior, the glorious from the dishonorable, the rich from the poor, the strong from the weak, the noble from the ill-born. Here boast of your nobility, here exalt yourself with your intelligence, here magnify your beauty, here flaunt your wealth, here inflate yourself with honor, here count your ranks, here count your titles. Oh, poor creature, poor in the beginning, poor in life, poor in the end! Remember again, who are you? A creature created in the image of God, but the image of God destroyed, fallen, corrupted, made equal to foolish beasts (Ps. 48:13), but restored by the mercy of God, the Son of God redeemed by suffering and death... The Son of God prayed for His crucifiers: Father, forgive them! (Luke 23:34) - Should you be angry with those who insulted you, be angry, and seek revenge? But who are you that your ears cannot tolerate even the slightest insult? A wretched creature, weak, naked, passionate, lost, subject to all sorts of misfortunes, surrounded by all sorts of troubles; grass, hay, steam, appearing for a short time and then disappearing (James 4:14). But if you accept the Son of God as your Savior and Redeemer, your Mentor and Teacher, then accept His teaching; if you accept His teaching, then follow His teaching; if you follow His teaching, follow His humility, which He first of all taught you in word and deed. Here is His sweet voice to us: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). Are you not ashamed, servant, to be proud when your Lord humbles himself? How dare you call yourself His servant when you disobey Him? How can you call yourself His disciple when you do not listen to His teaching? Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. He will not recognize you as His own if He does not see His character in you; He will not recognize you as His servant if he does not see obedience in you; does not recognize Him as His disciple unless He sees His teaching. You are ashamed of His humility, and He will be ashamed of you and deny you as a stranger. For He says: Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels (Mark 8:38). He who did not want to be a participant in His humility will not have a share with Him in His glory. Christ, the Son of God, as soon as he was born on earth, began to endure persecution. From this we see that from His very birth He began to bear the cross for our salvation. He who created the whole earth and everything in it was born in a den and lay down in a cattle manger. He ran, pursued by a murderer, the One who holds the life and death of everyone in his hands. Let human pride be ashamed, which wants and seeks to rest in rich and beautiful chambers, to live in the wealth and glory of this world and does not tolerate hearing words that are contrary to itself. Let him be ashamed, I say, looking at the Heavenly King, born in a den, and resting in a manger, and giving way to the wrath of a lawless king, and yielding to him. Tell me, tell me, please, Christian, could not Christ the King of Heaven have had for Himself a glorious and magnificent place for His carnal birth and rest? How could he not! He is the Lord of all. His is heaven and earth and everything in them. But He chose the den as a beautiful chamber and the manger as a valuable bed, in order to teach us by His example not to seek wealth and glory in this world, but to be strangers and strangers on a foreign earth (Heb. 11:13) and to seek the Heavenly Fatherland (see Heb. 11:14-16), for which we were created. Let us learn, Christian, not to live in the pomp and pride of this world, but to live in humility. Many Christians do not want to travel, if not in a train, 14 and in tall, rich, gilded English carriages. This is their pomp and pride. Let them see and judge for themselves how far they are from Christ, who walked from country to country on foot. Let human pride be put to shame and let down its exalted horn 15 when the Heavenly King and Lord of glory lived in such humility on earth. Why does a person exalt himself because today is in his power, and tomorrow may be in the power of another, and why despise that brother who today is lower, and after a while may be higher than him? We see quite a few such examples in this world. Pride is always humbled, and humility is always exalted. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). He who lives in pride and pomp is at one with the devil, for the devil is a proud spirit. Such a heart, which does not try to recognize its unworthiness and remains in its pride, ultimately disappears and dies, like a shadow disappears after sunset. The beginning of pride is the devil, who departed from his Creator and became from a bright angel the prince of darkness. This deadly poison has infected both ourselves and our hearts so much that for the rest of our lives we cannot sufficiently mourn our damnation. There is nothing more dangerous, more secret and more difficult than pride. Pride is dangerous, for for the proud heaven is defined and hell is defined instead of heaven. God opposes the proud (James 4:6), says Scripture. Pride is hidden because it lies so deep in our hearts that we cannot even discern it without the help of the meek-hearted Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and we recognize it better in our neighbors than in ourselves. We see other vices, such as drunkenness, fornication, theft, embezzlement, etc., because often because of them we feel sorry for ourselves and are ashamed. But we don’t see pride. Who has ever admitted to being proud from the heart? Never happened to see that before. Many call themselves sinners, but others do not tolerate being called that way, and although many of them do not respond with their tongues, they accept it not without indignation and heartbreak. And so this shows that they only call themselves sinners with their tongues, and not with their hearts; they show humility on their lips, but do not have it in their hearts. For a truly humble person cannot be upset or angry at reproaches, since he considers himself worthy of any humiliation. There is nothing more difficult than pride, for with great inconvenience and also not without the help of God we overcome it. We carry this evil within ourselves. Are we in good health? She is next to us with majesty and pomp, contempt and humiliation of our neighbors. Are we getting into trouble? It shows itself through indignation, grumbling and blasphemy. Are we trying to learn patience, meekness and other virtues? The arrogance of the 16 Pharisees rises up against us. And so we cannot get rid of it anywhere and in any way: it always walks with us, always wants to dominate and own us. How God opposes the proud (James 4:6) is shown by the terrible destinies of God, which God’s holy Word presents to us, so that we, looking at them, would with all our might be protected from this vile and soul-destroying vice. The signs of pride are: 1) does not submit to superiors; 2) is not inferior to equals and inferiors; 3) pride is eloquent, lofty and loquacious; 4) seeks glory, honor and praise in every way; 5) highly exalts himself and his deeds; 6) despises and humiliates others; 7) is looking for a way to show off; 8) shamelessly praises himself; 9) whatever good he has, he attributes to himself, and not to God; 10) boasts about the good that he does not have; 11) tries very hard to hide his shortcomings and vices; 12) does not tolerate being despised and humiliated; 13) does not accept admonitions, reproofs, or advice; 14) arbitrarily interferes in other people’s affairs; 15) having lost rank or honor, and in other misfortunes, he grumbles, is indignant, and often curses; 16) therefore, pride is angry, 17) pride is envious: it does not want anyone equal to it or higher than it to have equal or greater honor, but for it to surpass everyone in everything. 18) pride is not inclined to love, it is hateful. Self-love is the root of all evil. And so pride is the beginning and root of all sin. Pride is not only a grave and vile sin in itself, but it can also be the cause of other sins. For God, who opposes the proud, with righteous judgment takes away His grace from the proud; Satan, as a proud spirit and murderer, conveniently approaches such a house as if it had been swept and tidied (see Matt. 12:44). Therefore, a person who is left without the grace of God, as weak and receptive to all evil, conveniently falls into all sin. As many of both Holy Scripture and church history testify to. The end to which pride leads, Christ himself means: everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated (Luke 14:11). She rises high, but falls very low. There are many reasons that bring down our pride, some of which are given here. 1. People are most proud of either honor and glory, or wealth, or intelligence, or strength, or nobility. But since all this is subject to change and both comes to us and departs from us, for it is not ours, then it is very senseless to be exalted by what is not ours. Everything we have is not ours, but God’s; we are only vessels of God's gifts. To God the giver is due all praise, and honor, and thanksgiving, and to man is due humility, so that what he has is not taken away because of pride. 2. Our birth and upbringing destroy our pride. What animal is born with more difficulty and pain than a human? Mothers know about this and are present in such cases. What animal requires more supervision, care, nutrition, and protection in education than a human? Many animals immediately after birth get food for themselves, but how many people run around with someone else’s hands, dress themselves, feed themselves with someone else’s labor, keep warm, and survive! 3. Our nakedness destroys our pride. Other animals do not require clothing, but man is so poor and wretched that he does not even have his own clothing, but accepts it from animals and other creatures. Sheep, fox, wolf, hare, lynx and others dress and warm us. 4. Our pride and our misfortunes overthrow. Who is subject to greater passions, corruption, illnesses, and infirmities than man? Who is subject to greater fear, sadness, and grief than man? Surrounded by troubles everywhere: behind - sins, in front - death, above - the judgment of God, below - hell, on the sides - the temptations of the world and the machinations of demons, inside - the flesh with passions and lusts. Is it in such a poor state to be proud? 5. The end of our life brings down our pride, for we are all dust of the earth and we will go to the earth (see Gen. 3:19). Mentally inspect the tombs and distinguish there the king from the warrior, the glorious from the dishonorable, the rich from the poor, the strong from the weak, the noble from the noble, the wise from the foolish. Staying here in thought, boast of your nobility, here exalt yourself in reason, here magnify yourself in wealth, here exalt yourself in honor, here count ranks, here count titles. O poor creature, poor in the beginning, poor in the middle, poor in the end! Like a worn out and rotten vessel, like the dust of the earth - such is man, and he will go into the earth. 6. The more we come to know and remember Christ, the more we recognize our meanness and damnation and thus humble ourselves. Christ, the Son of God, your Lord, humbled himself for your sake - should you, a servant, be proud? For your sake, your Lord took on the form of a slave - should you, a slave, seek dominance? Your Lord accepted dishonor for your sake - should you, a slave, be exalted with honor? Your Lord had no place to lay his head; should you, a slave, expand the magnificent buildings? Your Lord washed His disciples’ feet—are you ashamed to serve your brethren? Your Lord endured slander, reproach, mockery, ridicule, spitting - can’t you, a servant, endure an annoying word? He endured it innocently and for your sake - shouldn’t you, the guilty one, endure it for yourself? Don't your sins deserve it? Your Lord prayed for His crucifiers: Father! Forgive them (Luke 23:34) - should you, a servant, be angry, angry, and seek revenge at those who insulted you? But who are you that your ears cannot tolerate insults? A wretched creature, weak, naked, passionate, lost, subject to all sorts of misfortunes, surrounded by all sorts of troubles, grass, hay, steam, appearing briefly and disappearing. But take care and beware that Christ your Lord is not ashamed of you, if you are ashamed of His humility and meekness. He says: whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels (Mark 8:38). He is ashamed of Christ and His words who does not follow His humility, meekness, and patience, but wants to reign in peace in pride. It is bad and disgusting for anyone to be proud before God, but it is worse for someone who should be brought into humility by the state of misfortune. It is bad for a high-ranking, noble master, a rich man to be proud, but worse than that for a simple, honorable man, a slave, a beggar. So it is with other minds, as anyone can admit. Anyone can better notice how much pride the human heart is infected with in others than in themselves. For we recognize vices more easily in our neighbors than in ourselves, and we direct our eyes more to others than to our own sins. But what a person sees in his neighbor, he also has within himself. We see how a person tries to dominate over others, to command, to command, to seem better to others, to become famous and exalted, to be revered and worshiped by everyone, for which he uses so many means that it is impossible to list. Others willfully expose themselves to the crackle and sound of deadly enemy weapons in order to be called a winner and receive a rank. He goes through different schools and different sciences in order to either be considered wise and wise, or to sit in a high place. Some people learn decrees, rights and all kinds of administrative matters from a young age in order to be considered a judge. Some seek wealth and thus want to distinguish themselves more than others. Another creates rich chambers in order to be known to respectable and high persons and so to be called such himself. Another thing is to take care of the dress and colorful attire, so that you can sit in the last place in the meeting and receive respect and bow from those you meet. Someone thinks of tall and rich carriages, chosen and decorated horses with many servants, in order to appear noble and official. Another often gathers at a rich table in order to receive honor and praise from those who eat. Others plan something else to glorify their name. The root of all these useless, even harmful plans is worldly pride. But whoever begins to evade this deadly evil by the grace of God and, leaving the creature to seek the Creator, will be met with another, more evil, evil - spiritual pride and Pharisaic arrogance. This all-pernicious ulcer especially gets used to nesting in those who fast a lot, give a lot of alms, as the Pharisee showed himself (see Luke 18: 10-14), as well as in those who retire to the desert, enclose themselves in monasteries, dress in robes, pray often and a lot, and try to do other seemingly good things. So this viper sits everywhere next to the poor man and looks for how to kill him with its poison! Against this evil, the Son of God offers us a remedy - His humility and commands us to learn this from Himself: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). The most disgusting sin is pride, but few people know it because it is hidden deep in the heart. The beginning of pride is ignorance of oneself. This ignorance blinds a person, and so a person is proud. Oh, if a person knew himself, if he knew his poverty, misery and wretchedness, he would never be proud! But a person is all the more damned because he does not see and does not recognize his poverty and damnation. Pride is known by its deeds, just as a tree is known by its fruit. But let's see what the fruits of the bitter seed of pride are. 1. A proud person seeks honor, glory and praise in every possible way. He always wants to appear to be someone and someone else to point out, command and boss. And whoever interferes with his desire becomes very angry and angry with him. 2. Having lost his honor and high position, he grumbles, is indignant and blasphemes. What have I sinned? What is my fault? Are my efforts and merits worthy of this? And it often happens that a person kills himself. 3. He starts things that are beyond his strength, things that he cannot cope with. Oh man! Why do you touch a burden that you cannot bear? 4. Willfully interferes in other people's affairs. He wants to give instructions to everyone everywhere, although he himself does not know what he is doing. So his pride blinds him. 5. Without shame, he praises and exalts himself: “I did this and that, I rendered such and such services to society.” O man! You count your merits, but why don’t you talk about your mistakes? If you are ashamed to announce them, then be ashamed to praise yourself. 6. He despises and humiliates other people: “He’s a vile person, he’s worthless,” and so on. Human! He is the same person as you, for we are all people. He is a sinner, but I think that you will not renounce this name either. He has sinned in one thing or is sinning, and you have sinned in another, or perhaps in the same thing. Because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). 7. He does not submit to the authorities and does not obey his parents, for the proud have a cruel and unyielding neck. They always want to establish and approve the will of their desires. 8. The good that he has, he attributes to himself, to his own efforts, labors and reason, and not to God. O man! What can you have of yours if you came naked from your mother’s womb? What can you have if God, the Source of all good, does not give it to you? What can our efforts and labor do without the help of Him Who alone can do everything and without Whom everyone is nothing, like a shadow without a body? 9 . He does not like reproofs and admonitions at all. He considers himself to be in good order, although he is all dirty. 10. In humiliation, contempt, in troubles and misfortunes, he does not tolerate, is indignant, grumbles, and often blasphemes. 11. In words and actions he shows a certain arrogance and pomp, and so on. These are the fruits of pride, hateful to God and people. These fruits are bitter, and so is the seed from which they are born. What is high among people is an abomination to God (Luke 16:15). That is why it is written: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:11). Zug - six horses in harness, harnessed in two rows. Horn - in the Church Slavonic language meant pride, arrogance. Pride - pride, arrogance.