Up to this point, much of the book has focused on calling, vocation, stewardship, faithfulness, community, and purpose. Then, almost unexpectedly, he begins discussing the Seven Deadly Sins. Here I am reading a good book and it is taking a general "Christian" book path and then this slight turn became genius to me as the next few chapters took shape.
After all, once we begin asking questions about calling, we eventually have to ask another question. What keeps us from living it out? What is it that consistently pulls us off course? Why do we drift from the very things we know are good, true, and important?
Guinness begins with pride, and I think there is a reason for that. Pride is not merely one sin among many. Historically, it has often been viewed as the root beneath the others.
What makes pride so dangerous is that it rarely presents itself as a villain.
Most of us picture pride as arrogance. We imagine a loud, boastful person who constantly talks about themselves and lets everyone know how important they are. Sometimes pride looks like that, but more often it is much more sophisticated.
It has different names that contain issues in small slivers: ambition.insecurity. the need to be right. the need to be noticed. t can even disguise itself as service.
One of the observations Guinness includes comes from Bernard Mandeville, who wrote:
"Pride and vanity have built more hospitals than all the virtues together."
That statement bothered me when I first encountered it. Years ago, I often argued that Christianity could be validated by looking at hospitals, orphanages, ministries, and charitable works that had been built by people of faith. Mandeville's comment forced me to think more carefully.
A lot of things have been built with good intentions, but the donor also wants their name on the building….
If pride simply made people lazy, we would identify it immediately. Instead, pride often creates tremendous energy. It can drive people to work harder, sacrifice more, stay later, compete longer, and accomplish impressive things.
The older I get, the more I recognize that tendency in myself.
Put something in front of me that benefits me, elevates me, rewards me, or increases my influence, and I can find enormous reserves of energy. My flesh is surprisingly resourceful when there is something in it for me.
That is why I think of pride as a race engine.
A race engine produces incredible power. It accelerates quickly. It creates excitement. It can outperform ordinary engines for a season. The problem is that race engines are not built for ordinary roads. They burn through fuel, require constant maintenance, and eventually break down under the stress they create.
Pride works much the same way.
It can power a life for a long time. It can fuel achievement, success, recognition, and accomplishment. But eventually it demands more fuel. More recognition. More affirmation. More success. More applause.
And the moment those things begin disappearing, the engine starts sputtering.
One of the things I have always appreciated about Nick Saban is that he understood human nature. He knew that most eighteen-year-old football players were not driven primarily by noble ideals. They wanted playing time, championships, recognition, and opportunities. Rather than trying to eliminate those desires, he redirected them.
His basic message was simple: if you commit yourself to the team, the process, discipline, and sacrifice, you will ultimately get more of what you want than if you simply pursue your own agenda.
He said it this way- ‘you create value for yourself’- and in the end, it works.
That is brilliant coaching but the gospel, however, takes us somewhere deeper.
Christianity is not merely trying to redirect selfish ambition into more productive channels. God is slowly teaching us to love different things altogether.
That is why Jesus speaks about self-denial.
That is why John the Baptist says:
"He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)
That is why Paul writes:
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Gal 2:20)
Those verses sounded strange to me when I was younger. They felt almost mystical. Now I think they describe a lifelong process. God is patiently teaching us to move from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.
One of the stories Guinness tells involves Sir Stafford Cripps. Winston Churchill once remarked that Cripps (strong Presbyterian, strict moralist), was the most difficult man in England to get along with. His only bad habit was cigars and when Cripps announced he was giving them up as a sacrifice for the war, Churchhill quipped “Too bad, that was his last contact with humanity”.
A 2nd quip was in the same vein- one day after Cripps left the cabinet room Churchhill told the others-
"There but for the grace of God goes God."
We have to be very careful- we can become very high horse in even good causes- in these days, I know a lot of people who have a very high opinion of their opinion! ( And some are even proud enough to blog about them :) ).
The strange thing is that humility creates a freedom that pride never can.
A humble person can celebrate another person's success without feeling diminished.
A humble person can receive criticism without falling apart.
A humble person can serve without constantly needing recognition.
A humble person can admit mistakes without constructing elaborate defenses.
As I think about this June Tune-Up, I find myself wondering how much of our exhaustion comes from running on the wrong fuel. Many of us are tired because pride is expensive. It requires constant feeding. It never stays satisfied.
Humility, on the other hand, grows slowly. It develops through disappointments, corrections, failures, relationships, and years of learning that God is God and we are not.
That process is not nearly as dramatic as a race engine.
But it tends to carry people much farther.
And perhaps that is why God seems far more interested in building character than building resumes. The first deadly sin is not simply a moral problem. It is often the very thing that keeps us from becoming the people God is calling us to be.
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