Contention - Pride

President Ezra Taft Benson

General Conference - April 1989

Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride.

Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family  members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.”

The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges. They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings.

The proud do not recieve counsel or correction easily. Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures.

View the complete talk HERE

Pride

C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity 

As long as you are proud, you cannot know God.  A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment or even common sense.

President Ezra Taft Benson

"Cleansing the Inner Vessel"

General Conference

April 1986

Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right.  It looks sideways to man and argues who is right.... Pride is characterized by ‘What do I want out of life?’  It is self-will as opposed to God’s will....  Humility responds to God’s will– to the fear of  His judgments and the needs of those around us.. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.