Pride vs Humility: From Cain to Aslan to Samson to Mary

Chapter 7. Of fleeing from vain hope and pride.

Thomas offers us a simple warning and a promise:  if we put our faith in anyone or anything other than The Lord, we face futility.  However, God will honor our efforts and intentions if the rationale for these are in accord with His Will.

Cain & Abel

Life is vain for the one who puts trust in the children of Adam or in any created thing (Jer 17:5, Ps 146:2-4).  Do not be ashamed to be the servant of others for the love of Jesus Christ, and to be reckoned poor in this life. (2 Cor 4:5)

Build your refuge in God (Ps 73:28), not upon your own capabilities. Do what is within your power, and God will help your good intent.
Trust in the favour of God, who resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, and do not trust in your learning, nor in the cleverness of others.

Next, Thomas cautions us to build our relationship with God.  He does not say that we should not have wealth or powerful friends, but rather to keep these in perspective: put God first as only He can break the Stone Table.

Aslan & The Stone Table

 It is easy to think our selves as not needing Him when we are in the flower of youth and health.  But this talent is from God Himself.  Think of Samson here.

2. If you have wealth, take no glory in your riches.  If you have powerful friends, do not rely upon that relationship, but in your relationship with God, who gives all things, and in addition to all things, He desires to give even Himself. (1 Cor 1:31).



Sampson & Delilah

 Boasting because of your strength or beauty of body is futile since it takes only a slight sickness for it to fail and wither away. Pride in your skilfulness or ability for fear that it will displease God, from Whom emanates every good gift and talent which we have.

Thomas concludes this chapter with an admonition to stay humble in all of your efforts. With Mary as a model of humility, we can practice our humility and obtain peace and quiet strength.  This does not ever amount to being a punching bag.

3. Do not count yourself better than others, since you will then be accounted worse in the sight of God, who knows what is in a man's heart.


Be humble about your good works, for God's judgments are of another sort than the judgments of man, and what pleases others is ofttimes displeasing to Him (Is 55:6-9).

Mary's Fiat

If you have any good qualities, believe that others have more, and so you may preserve your humility. It is no harm to you if you place yourself below all others; but it is great harm if you place yourself above even one other person. Peace is ever with the humble, but in the heart of the proud there is envy and continual wrath.

Will This Spaghetti Make Me Restless?

Chapter 6: Of Inordinate Affections (Too much of a good thing).  

Today, Thomas tells us an obvious truth:  that if we eat too much, we will get indigestion; that if we drink too much alcohol, we will suffer a hang-over; that any blessing can be perverted into a curse.  The root of the problem lies in controlling our desires:

1. Whenever you desire more than you should reasonably expect, immediately you become restless. The proud and the self-interested are never at rest; while the poor of spirit and humble of heart abide in peace. Whoever is not wholly dead to self is soon tempted, and is overcome in small and unimportant matters. It is hard for the weak in spirit, especially those who are still in part of the carnal and inclined to the pleasures of the flesh, to withdraw altogether from worldly desires. When withdrawing from these inclinations, he is often sad, and easily angered too if anyone thwarts his will.

From here, good Thomas tells us how to get out of our self-dug hole:  resist these passions by filling your desires with fruits of the Spirit rather than worldliness.

It is OK to enjoy a thing so long as desire for that thing does not turn into an unhealthy desire - be it for more spaghetti, more ale, or more sex, more ______ (there's more to the list...just think of your favorite sins and fill in the blank). 

God does not have laws against charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generousity, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.  Of these we can have as much as we desire.  Let our passions be for these fruits of the Spirit.

2. On the other hand, if you yield to your tendencies, immediately you are weighed down by the conviction of your conscience; for you have followed your own desires, and yet in no way attained the hoped for peace by yielding to these temptations. For true peace of heart is to be found in resisting your passions, not in yielding to those passions. There is no peace in your heart when you are focused on the flesh. Nor is there peace for you who are given up to the things that are outside of you. Peace rests with you who are fervent towards God and living the life of the Spirit (see Gal 5:16-25).

Thanks for praying along with me,
'til next time, be Imitators of Christ!

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