The Deadliest Sin

In the third section of CS Lewis’s Mere Christianity, he explores Christian behavior.  And just to clarify, he is not talking about how all Christians behave, but how we should behave if we are following Jesus.  He spends time on several of the things that many of us struggle with, but then he lands on what he calls “The Great Sin”, and I have called “The Deadliest Sin”.  That sin is pride or self-conceit.  He talks about pride as being the only sin that is competitive.  It’s not “look at how much I have” or “look how good looking I am”, it is “look how much more I have than Joe” or “look how much better looking I am than Betty.”  Regrettably, this competitive nature applies to how we view our religiosity as well.  “I go to church every Sunday and go on a mission trip every summer.  I wish all Christians were as committed as I am.  Bless their heart.”  Looking down on other people has the terrible result of making it harder to look up to God.  And Lewis leaves us with an ominous warning:  as soon as you start feeling like you have conquered pride, achieved humility and begun to think good of yourself, you better take a closer look at what just happened.