In this world there is no person without sin; everyone makes some mistakes, often without even noticing them. One of the sins that is not so easy to detect in oneself is vanity, like a parasite that feeds on human energy. This sin manifests itself very clearly, since a person stricken by vanity suffers from self-love, strives in every possible way to be known, and becomes an egoist.
Vanity seems to burn everything good from within, making a person callous towards others and fixated only on his success, popularity, and desire to attract attention. Of course, you should fight this sin as quickly as possible by resuscitating your soul and getting closer to God again, but first you need to recognize it in yourself, which can be quite difficult to do.
What is vanity?
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Describing the sin of vanity, we can say that it is a rather serious illness for the human soul, since it puts the desire for fame and recognition in the first place, which makes a person think only for himself, without noticing anyone around him. Speaking about the sin of vanity in more detail, taking into account the point of view of the Orthodox Church, it can be described as follows:
- vanity forces a person to achieve fame and popularity in all available ways, even if this goes beyond moral and spiritual boundaries;
- this sin has a strong resemblance to pride, so sometimes it can be difficult to recognize it;
- by committing the sin of vanity, a person places himself above all the basic ones, which clearly does not correspond to God’s Law, which states that everyone is the same before the Creator;
- a person’s vainglorious thoughts are always the result of the influence of a bad devilish influence on him, which every person should beware of;
- even the accomplishment of good deeds can be accompanied by vainglorious thoughts, when a person begins to praise himself and admire his actions;
- praising oneself is also a sign of the above-mentioned sin;
- if a person succumbs to vanity, even while doing a good deed, then his virtue will be equated to zero;
- A person can become infected with vanity if he is often praised;
- vanity is empty glory, which is earthly, sinful and impermanent.
For the sake of earthly glory, some people are ready to commit deceit and meanness, just to surpass themselves over others. The holy fathers classify this passion as a mortal sin, since it slowly and surely kills a person’s soul, depriving it of the Lord’s grace. The components of vanity can be called pride and ambition, which make a person selfish, awakening the idea that the whole world should revolve around him alone.
Pride is typical of:
Devil
- 1 Tim. 3:6 He must not be one of the new converts, lest he become proud and fall into condemnation with the devil.
World
- 1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of this world.
False teachers
- 1 Tim. 6:3-4 Whoever teaches otherwise and does not follow the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching of godliness, 4 he is proud, knows nothing, but is infected with [passion] for competitions and disputes of words, from which come envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions.
Wicked
- Habakkuk 2:4-5 Behold, an arrogant soul will not rest, but the righteous will live by his faith. 5 An arrogant man, like fermenting wine, does not rest, so that he expands his soul like hell, and like death he is insatiable, and gathers all nations to himself, and captures all nations for himself.
Comes from the heart
- Mark 7:21-23 For from within, from the heart of man, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, 22 thefts, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness - 23 all this evil comes from within. and defiles a person.
The wicked wear it as a garment
- Psalm 72:6 Therefore pride has surrounded them like a necklace, and insolence has clothed them like a robe...
The main signs of the sin of vanity
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Since the passion of vanity is multifaceted, it can sometimes be difficult to recognize its signs in yourself, but still, it is quite possible. If we talk about the main signs of vanity in a person, then among them it is worth highlighting the following:
- a person reacts excessively painfully to dishonor;
- if someone is better than a vain person, then he reacts to this excessively painfully;
- a person envies those who have become more successful than him, trying in every possible way to surpass the superior;
- attributing merit to oneself, embellishing one’s work;
- expectation of a special reward from God and gratitude from people.
Suffering from vanity, a person deprives himself of the fruits of the Divine reward, becomes more dualistic and hypocritical, low and vile, after which he gradually falls into delusion, completely losing the signs of spirituality. If you don’t fight this sin, it will have very serious consequences for the soul, so it’s worth starting the fight against bad passion as quickly as possible, returning again to the Lord’s grace.
Leads people to
Contempt and rejection of God's Word and God's servants
- Jer. 43:2 Then said Azariah the son of Hosaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the bold men said unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest a lie; the Lord our God did not send thee to say, Go not down into Egypt to live there;
Spirit of Pursuit
- Psalm 9:23 In his pride the wicked persecute the poor: let them be caught in the tricks which they themselves devise.
Anger
- Proverbs 21:24 An arrogant wicked man—his name is a blasphemer—acts in the heat of pride.
Discord
- Proverbs 13:10 From arrogance comes discord, but to those who take counsel comes wisdom.
- Proverbs 28:25 The arrogant stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord prospers.
Seduction and self-deception
- Jer. 49:16 Thy terrible state and the arrogance of thy heart have deceived thee, who dwell in the clefts of the rocks, and occupy the tops of the hills. But even if you build your nest high like an eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord.
Advice against
- Jer. 13:15 Listen and give heed; do not be proud, for the Lord speaks.
How to deal with the sin of vanity?
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If a person loves to be glorified and praised, advertises his merits in every possible way, constantly expects compliments from others and always wants to be the first, then we can say that he suffers from the sin of vanity. To overcome this sinful passion, you should do the following:
- try to become indifferent to the opinions of others;
- become unselfish, find in your works not only positive aspects, but also shortcomings;
- begin to glorify God more often, become more attentive, practice intense prayer;
- try not to show off your work, do humility exercises;
- try to fulfill obediences that a person considered shameful.
Yes, the struggle will be difficult, a person will want to quit the race as soon as he has started, but by asking God for strength and making real efforts, you can wage a worthy fight against sin, over time, eradicating it from your life. This will help a person become more spiritual, teach him to put moral values and the law of the Lord above all else.
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Often manifests itself:
Complacency
- Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee stood and prayed within himself like this: God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: 12 I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I get.
Vanity in one's religiosity
- Soph. 3:11 On that day you will not disgrace yourself by all your deeds in which you have sinned against Me, for then I will remove from among you those who boast of your nobility, and you will no longer exalt yourself in My holy mountain.
Knowledge without love
- 1 Cor. 8:1 We know about food sacrificed to idols, because we all have knowledge; but knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
Inexperience
- 1 Tim. 3:6 He must not be one of the new converts, lest he become proud and fall into condemnation with the devil.
Possession of power
- Leviticus 26:19 And I will break your proud stubbornness, and will make your heavens like iron, and your land like brass;
- Ezek. 30:6 Thus says the LORD: The ramparts of Egypt will fall, and the pride of her might will fall; From Migdol to Syene they will fall in it by the sword, said the Lord God.
Possession of wealth
- 2 Kings 20:13 When Hezekiah heard the messengers, he showed them his storehouses, the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the costly ointments, and all his armory, and all that was in his treasuries; There was not a single thing left that Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his possession.
Ban
- 1 Sam. 2:3 Do not multiply arrogant speeches; Do not let insolent words come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him works are weighed.
- Rome. 12:3 By the grace given to me, I say to every one of you: do not think more about [yourself] than you ought to think; but think modestly, according to the measure of faith that God has allocated to each.
- Rome. 12:16 Be of the same mind among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but follow the humble; don't dream about yourself;
Defiles a person
- Mark 7:20 He further said, “What comes from a man defiles a man.”
- Mark 7:22 Theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness -
Hardens the mind
- Daniel 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened to the point of insolence, he was overthrown from his royal throne and stripped of his glory,
Followed by
A shame
- Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, so does shame; but with the humble there is wisdom.
Humiliation
- Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride humbles him, but he who is humble in spirit gains honor.
- Isaiah 28:3 The crown of pride of the drunken Ephraimites is trampled underfoot.
A fall
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Proverbs 18:12 A man's heart is lifted up before he falls, but humility comes before glory.
Will increase in the last days
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unkind,
Grief
- Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the wreath of pride of the drunken Ephraimites, to the withered flower of their beautiful adornment, which is on the top of the fat valley of those slain by wine!
- Isaiah 28:3 T The crown of pride of the drunken Ephraimites is trampled underfoot.
Righteous
Didn't arrive
- Psalm 130:1 Song of Ascension. David. God! My heart was not lifted up and my eyes were not lifted up, and I did not enter into what is great and beyond my reach.
Doesn't respect others
- Psalm 40:4 Blessed is the man who puts his hope in the Lord and does not turn to the proud or to those who turn aside to lies.
Mourned in others
- Jer. 13:17 If you do not listen to this, then my soul will mourn your pride in secret places, it will weep bitterly, and my eyes will shed tears; for the flock of the Lord will be carried away into captivity.
Hated in others
- Psalms 101:5 He who secretly slanderes his neighbor I will drive out; I will not tolerate someone who is proud in his eyes and arrogant in his heart.
Hindrance in the search for God
- Psalm 9:25 In his arrogance the wicked despises the Lord: “he will not seek”; in all his thoughts: “There is no God!”
- Hosea 7:10 And the pride of Israel was brought low in their sight, and yet they did not turn to the Lord their God, nor seek Him.
Impediment to Improvement
- Proverbs 26:12 Have you seen a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him
Those who are guilty are worthy
God's Resistance
James 4:6 But grace gives all the more; That is why it is said: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Humiliation
- Isaiah 23:9 The LORD of hosts has ordained this to disgrace the arrogance of all glory, to humble all the great men of the earth.
Retribution
- Psalm 30:24 Love the Lord, all ye His righteous; The Lord protects the faithful and rewards those who act arrogantly in abundance.
Humiliation
- Exodus 18:11 Now I have learned that the Lord is greater than all the gods, in the very thing by which they exalted themselves above [the Israelites].
- Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquities, and I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and I will bring down the arrogance of the oppressors;
Humiliation
- Psalm 17:28 For You save the oppressed people, but You bring down haughty eyes.
- Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the Lord of hosts [is coming] upon all that is proud and arrogant, and upon all that is exalted, and it shall be brought low,
Humiliation
- Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and magnify the King of heaven, whose works are true and his ways are righteous, and who is able to humble those who walk proudly.
- Matthew 23:12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Punishment
- Soph. 2:10-11 This is to them because of their arrogance, because they mocked and magnified themselves over the people of the Lord of hosts. 11 The Lord will be terrible to them, for he will destroy all the gods of the earth, and all the islands of the nations will worship Him, each one from his own place.
