CSL: "the devil laughs"

Last night, I was looking over my blog posts, and read this (from here):

"Self-pity is pride in response to trial (I am paraphrasing Mark who was quoting John Piper). On the flip side, boastfulness is pride in response to prosperity."

I know that I can have little pity parties when things aren't going my way; and how I can yearn for prosperity in many different forms. And although I heard this is a sermon LAST YEAR, and the above statement made perfect sense to me ... it makes even more sense to me know. Pride is ugly and it's sinful. And I don't want anything to do with it.

Then this morning, I read the following:

24 March

Dictatorship of Pride

It is a terrible thing that the worse of all vices [Pride] can smuggle itself into the very centre of our religious life. But you can see why. The other, and less bad, vices come from the devil working on us through our animal nature. But this does not come through our animal nature at all. It comes direct from Hell. It is purely spiritual: consequently it is far more subtle and deadly. For the same reason, Pride can often be used to beat down the simpler vices. Teachers, in fact, often appeal to a boy's Pride, or, as they call it, his self-respect, to make him behave decently: many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper, by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity - that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride - just as he would be quite content to see your chilblains cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense. (emphasis mine)

- from Mere Christianity

1918 Edward "Paddy" Moore, Lewis's army roommate and friend, is reported missing in action. It is later learned that Paddy had been killed in action on March 21, 1918, resisting the German attack on Pargny, France.

C.S. Lewis, A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Reading From His Classic Works, Harper Publishers, 2003.

I read Mere Christianity a few years ago, and it's still so amazing to read the thoughts of such a great mind. And it makes me sad when I see the sin of pride in fellow Christians - makes me sick to see it in myself. The last sentence about pride being spiritual cancer and the effects of that sickness really stuck out to me. I don't want to be wrapped up in it, and I want to help others who seem to be so stuck that they don't see the situation that the are in.

Okay, now I'm tired and gave a migraine, so good night!

*I'm leaving the typos in, even though I realllllllly want to fix them... could that be my pride!??! Eh, I had a bad migraine, and it really doesn't matter. :)*