I used to think that pride and arrogance were the same thing. But they aren’t.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re very similar. From the outside, it’s pretty hard to tell them apart, and pride can certainly lead to arrogance. But I don’t think they’re the same thing.
Recently, I’ve come to understand that arrogance is really just the obsession with self. It’s a way of looking at the world that filters everything through “me”.
And once we realize that arrogance is self-obsession, it becomes clear that there are two very different roads that take us there: pride (for sure), but also insecurity. See, pride says “I’m so good” and insecurity says “I’m no good”, but what do both have in common? Yeah, it’s all about “I”.
Both pride and insecurity take us to arrogance, to the place where we can’t see past “me” enough to engage the larger mission Jesus calls us to. And that’s the real, practical, impact of self obsession: it takes us off mission.
So whether it’s pride or insecurity taking you there, don’t walk that road.
