day no. 16,359: pride is weakness seeking praise

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goeth before destruction,

and an haughty spirit before a fall

Pride is weakness seeking praise;

Humility is praising the strength of another.

Proverbs 29:1

He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,

shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Pride is too strong to bend;

Humility too weak to harden.

The weakness of pride is its inability to back off. It cannot stop. It needs approval. Yet it corrupts what it covets. It covers what it gets in corrosion so that it never keeps. It always needs more. Yesterday's praise does not tarry. It evaporates in the kiln of discontent and unrequited care. No one can give enough to satisfy pride. No one can match its self-concern and yet it demands it of everyone. Pride cannot resist the urge to pat its own back. It is not strong enough to say, "No," to itself. It rushes ahead of itself with itself.

The weakness of humility is its strength. It blesses the strength of the one who sustains it. It freely ascribes worth and virtue to the strength of another. It is strong in laud and weak in sheepishness. Humility is not shy, it is bold. It loudly boasts of all that has been done on its behalf. It is no shrinking violet. It shouts. It declares with decibels the glory of its God and the blessings of its benefactor. It is in no hurry to change the subject. 

Pride flings frail palaces at the sky,

As a man flings up sand,

But the firm feet of humility

Take hold of heavy land.

Pride juggles with her toppling towers,

They strike the sun and cease,

But the firm feet of humility

They grip the ground like trees.

-- G.K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse