The Great Sin — Pride

A Sunday School Lesson from the Young Adults class at Brookview Baptist on 10/04/2009

From Mere Christianity
By CS Lewis
Let’s play name that sin! Read the paragraph below and see if you can determine what vice CS Lewis is talking about?

The Great Sin

I now come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. (From Mere Cristianity by C.S. Lewis)

1. What is your response to this paragraph?  Were you surprised when you found out what CS Lewis is talking about?
2. How can we recognize this vice in ourselves?
3. We are going to hear more from CS Lewis on this great vice.  What thoughts and ideas stand out to you?
4. Are you, as Lewis suggests, more likely to notice this vice in others than yourself?  Has there been a time in your life when you have been painfully aware of your own struggles in this area?
5. What do you think about CS Lewis’ recommended first step in this area?

You can read the entire chapter on The Great Sin, here.

Verses on the topic:

Proverbs 11:12

Proverbs 13:10

Proverbs 15:25

Proverbs 16:18-19

Proverbs 18:12

Proverbs 29:23

Luke 14:7-11

 In Luke 14, Jesus gives us a practical example of how to handle this vice in our lives.  Discuss his solution and how it would apply to you in your life today at home, school, church, and on the job?

Related posts:

1. Mastering the Tongue
2. . . . No Matter How I Feel
3. Secrets
4. Finding Meaning