Girolamo Savonarola was one of the great preachers of the fifteenth century. He preached in the great cathedral of Florence, Italy, which contained a magnificent marble statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
When Savonarola started preaching at this great cathedral, he noticed one day an elderly woman praying before this statue of Mary. He then began to notice that it was her habit to come every day and pray before the statue.
Savonarola remarked one day to an elderly priest who had been serving in the cathedral for many years, “Look how devoted and earnest this woman is. Every day she comes and offers prayers to the Blessed Mother of Jesus. What a marvelous act of faith.”
But the elderly priest replied, “Do not be deceived by what you see. Many years ago when the sculptor needed a model to pose for this statue of the blessed Mother, he hired a beautiful young woman to sit for him. This devout worshiper you see here everyday is that young woman. She is worshiping who she used to be.” A God Flash
The first and perhaps the deadliest of the seven deadly sins is pride. The Oxford Dictionary defines pride as an “unduly high opinion of one’s own qualities, merits, that is, an arrogant bearing.” In other words, pride is self-love that says, “I’m better than you.” How often these four words are in our minds throughout our days, “I’m better than you.”
Muhammad Ali had just won another boxing title. On the airplane the flight attendant politely said to him, “You need to fasten your seat belt.” Ali replied, “Superman doesn’t need a seat belt.” To which the flight attendant politely responded, “And Superman doesn’t need an airplane either. Please fasten your seat belt.”
When was the last time “I’m better than you!” crossed your mind?
