In the span of time since I started posting religious content, I encountered different kinds of people. Some of them are unaware why people are said to be sinful in nature. From what I learned in my catechism classes when I was young (and what we can all read online), this is actually called the original sin. It is caused by the fall of Adam and Eve.
Long story short, it is one of the reasons why Jesus died for us. Imho He is the answer to "Why is God so cruel to humans (sinners) in the Old Testament?".
Remember, the Jews are said to be God's chosen people and they practice Judaism. Part of the Bible's Old Testament is from that old Jewish faith/belief system. With the coming of Jesus we see the fulfillment of promises since that religion was established. Through Him we finally learn the Way, the Truth and the Light.
In the New Testament, God shows his love for all through his divine mercy. (Look up St. Faustina to know more.) From His only begotten Son's life and teachings we also get to know how we can truly be better people and enter Heaven. I repeat, Jesus shows us how God loves everything He created and is actually super merciful to all.
However as we all know, the road to the Kingdom of God is never easy. This is why actively religious people need to be aware of the topic of this post. (Read part 1: Lukewarm, Hot or Cold Catholic / Christian, Which One Are You?)
I for one had no inkling of spiritual pride until I leveled up spiritually. Oh boy, it's a tricky thing to maneuver. Read on to know more.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Catholicism but I was born, raised and live as a Catholic. Also, I went to a Catholic school for 4 yrs. This post is based on a combination of my opinion, what I've been taught, learned online/offline and/or experienced.
Dangers of Spiritual Pride: Say Hello to Modern Pharisees
Before rising up from being a lukewarm Catholic I wasn't aware of this term. Apparently spiritual pride can be associated as the sin of the Pharisees. To give you a clearer picture, generally being a Pharisee means someone is a:
hypocrite: The person is doing (good) things for show. Jesus called them out for being such several times in the Bible. (e.g. Matthew 15:7)
self righteous or judgmental: An individual looking/speaking down on others for being sinful, or that they think of themselves as spiritually and personally better than everyone else. (Luke 18:9-14)
manipulative and selfish: Someone who is using religion to manipulate people to do something for their personal gain (Matthew 22:15-22)
This sin is one of the favorite tools of the devil. According to Catholic exorcist priests, pride is the top sin the devil prefers out of them all. Why not when it is the very reason for their fall. Now if the evil beings are able to corrupt a religious person, he/she can start developing spiritual pride too. That's just the worst imho.
This sin can be sprung from anyone at anytime - from those new to the faith or have just returned back to God to those who have already been living the faith for decades. The clergy or pastors are surely already aware of this and thus we need to always pray for our church leaders.
Having spiritual pride is also the reason there are people who hate Catholics and Christians imho. Why? Because the so-called modern Pharisees most likely have no love in their hearts, only brains. 😆 I mean, yes, not everyone can reach the holiness level of saints. But if one has the above traits and corrects people angrily and such, well that's a big problem.
Praise God for His guidance and the religious knowledge I learned since Lent. Did you know Jesus was also friendly and welcoming to the sinners He met and even those He dined with? Yes He told parables and rebuked them but He still loved the sinful people despite their flawed character. And thus He was able to bring many over to God. That's how it should be done.
On a side note, there may have been good Pharisees too (e.g. in Luke 13:31 they warn Jesus of Herod). Like any organization there were members who were good but clearly misguided.
As you can see from The Chosen series, they're depicted as not entirely evil. There are seemingly redeemable characters in their group. Thanks to meeting and interacting with Jesus, there were those who converted and eventually became His followers. A perfect example is Paul (Acts 23:6-11).
And so it is important to learn from Jesus' teachings and the Bible and always seek the Holy Spirit's guidance to avoid the spiritual pride trap. The Son of God asks us to forgive and love each other. Hard to do but still we can always ask the Lord to help us in that regard.
Fair warning in Matthew 7:1-3 NKJV:
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
The Solution: Strive to Be the Ultimate Version of Yourself, like Jesus, Mama Mary and the Saints
We all know it's hard to follow the 10 Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. Even staying away from the 7 Deadly Sins can be a real challenge! Anyone who reads the suggested examination of conscience before confession will all agree. We really need to work on receiving God's graces. Indeed, Jesus never said the road to heaven would be effortless. 😆
As mentioned in one of my previous posts, we must emulate the saints. If we can't be like Jesus and Mama Mary, the nearest persons to strive for are the saints. We can do that by focusing on improving ourselves first. Let's learn and follow Jesus' teachings to be an example to others by the way we live.
Oh wait, I realized I wrote this on All Saints' Day. Haha. I actually went to mass on November 1 despite it not being a Holy Day of Obligation here in the Philippines. I don't normally go but good thing I did because I heard something good. During the sermon, the priest said the saints can be considered as the church's heroes. Now that is quite a humanizing term eh?
Saints are indeed one step higher than our national heroes. They attained the highest level of spirituality or unity with God aside from being noble and upstanding citizens. From what I've read of the lives of some of these holy people, they reached that level of holiness with the help of Jesus and Mama Mary. Amazing right?
Jesus and Mama Mary illustration from a church window. source
As this is getting too long again, I have to end here for now. In my next post I will share with you more details on the saints and how to emulate them. But of course feel free to also share your thoughts in the comments.
XOXO,
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Lead image from Unsplash.
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