In the Old Testament, it is written: «The beginning of pride is the removal of man from the Lord and the turning away of his heart from his Creator; for the beginning of sin is pride, and the one who possesses it pours out abomination; and for this, the Lord sends terrible punishments upon him and utterly humbles him».

The main sin of a person is pride. It is pride that forms the basis of all sins. One of the main signs of pride is the sense of human will's superiority over Divine will, the sense of the primacy of one's human «self». Pride is akin to a cancerous cell that seeks to subdue the entire organism.

In the book of «Genesis», it is said that God breathed a soul into man. The soul of a person is inherently Divine. We have the «self» associated with the body, the «self» associated with consciousness, and the higher «self». A person is multi-layered. A person is a soul, spirit (consciousness), and body. But above all, a person is a soul.

Our soul has several levels. A proud person forgets that they are multi-layered and that they have a higher «self». They consider their external, short-term «self», which serves the body and is linked to it for a few decades, as the most important.

The soul is a combination of information and energy. The soul is connected to time, space, and matter, while simultaneously transcending these categories. The soul is primary, and when the body is destroyed, it continues to exist. The soul connected to the subconscious contains the experience of billions of years. Our subconscious knows everything about the past and the future; our subconscious lives by Divine laws.

The concept of pride is discussed in all religions, but people still do not understand what pride truly is. How can a person understand that they have high pride and need to change?

«The beginning of sin is pride». Sin is the loss of the inclination toward God, replaced by other goals. Initially, love disappears from a person's soul, then morality begins to weaken, and eventually, a person commits a crime: first against others and then against themselves.

A proud person ceases to see Divine will in everything and divides the world into good and evil. They believe that good comes from God, and evil comes from the devil. Since they attribute all the bad in life to the devil's tricks, maintaining love in the soul becomes almost impossible. The person accumulates grievances, experiences dissatisfaction with their fate, hatred, and blames everyone for their misfortunes, gradually abandoning love.

The most subtle and dangerous sin is the renunciation of love for God and the loss of the sense that everything originates from Him. The Creator is the source not only of creation but also of destruction. His will is realized through the laws of the Universe, and when we violate these laws, calamities and misfortunes befall us. Thus, we ourselves are the authors of our suffering.

Many believe that God punishes people for their sins. In reality, our soul retains the memory of all our actions, feelings, and thoughts, and all of this returns to us like a boomerang according to universal laws. The Almighty allows us to make mistakes, like little children, so that we can grow. At the same time, He provides us with warning signs. Those who ignore them may think that God is punishing them. In reality, the cause of what happens is the lack of love in the soul, imperfection, and human laziness.

There is another misconception: that long ago, God created the Universe, and now everything exists independently of His will. However, at any moment, God can come to Earth to restore order. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, spoke completely differently: every fraction of a second, we receive energy from God and cannot exist without love for Him.

God governs the Universe every fraction of a second. On the external level, there is human will, but on the inner level, there is only the Divine will. The Bible says that not a single hair falls from a person's head without God's will.

Since one of the manifestations of pride is superiority over others, many people mistakenly believe that if they suppress themselves, give up all their desires, and withdraw from the world, pride will be overcome. But self-destruction, passivity, a sense of insignificance, and sinfulness are also manifestations of pride.

There is no need to despise one's body, give up external well-being, or lament. It is natural to love one's body and take care of one's family's well-being. However, it is essential to understand that this is not the most important thing in life; it should not be the ultimate goal.

The path of renouncing all worldly goods is a halt to development. Jesus Christ spoke about how a person can strive for what they desire and believe that their desires can be fulfilled. A person has the energy of desires that needs to be realized; otherwise, they will become like the one who buries their talent in the ground. Talent is the measure of effort invested. If a person buries their talent and refuses to develop, God will punish them. Overcoming pride is not self-deprecation or renunciation of desires but the transformation of animal nature into a human one and then into a Divine one.

A person's energy should primarily develop their soul, fill it with love, and then direct it to fulfill instincts. Our main desire should be to satisfy the needs of the soul, followed by the spirit and the body. Love and morality should take precedence, along with a sense of unity with the entire Universe and the development of noble qualities, followed by everything else: family happiness, well-being, and physical health.

The desire to control one's destiny, to manage it, is also a sign of high pride. A person with excessive pride tries to control the surrounding world through their consciousness. However, our consciousness has very little control over the situation. Divine will is primary: God governs us through our soul, which means through our feelings. A person with excessive pride does not know how to listen to their soul. They live through consciousness, inevitably experiencing internal tension, overexcitement, energy loss, leading to problems and illnesses.

Pride manifests as an unwillingness to change. A person with high pride stops developing. When a person worships their body, well-being, and pleasure, their soul begins to deform. This process happens subtly, especially in the beginning, but the consequences are dire. Usually, people are helped from above to cleanse their souls through troubles and illnesses, which push them toward change.

However, a proud person continues to kill their soul because their body has become accustomed to dictating its dreams and desires. They do not want to be seriously ill and suffer; it is easier for them to die. Today, people are willing to resort to euthanasia just to avoid suffering.

The Bible says, «God is love». Pride is the loss of love in the soul. A person forgets that they are an eternal soul that came from the Creator. They turn away from God, stop receiving His love and energy, and their soul begins to suffer. We can only be happy when our soul is alive and receives love from God.

Losing inner happiness, a person begins to seek happiness in the external world. Their love gradually turns into lust and passion; happiness is found in indulgence. They run away from pain, do not want to make sacrifices or care for their loved ones. They only seek to receive and enjoy, forgetting that without pain and giving, there can be no growth.

The further one distances themselves from God, the stronger the pull towards external pleasures becomes. The farther a person is from God, the harder it is for them to accept the loss of what they are attached to. The stronger the attachment to life, the harder it is to accept the loss of life.

When pride intensifies, it begins to manifest as dogmatism, arrogance, envy, greed, inflexibility, unwillingness to change, a sense of absolute rightness, and an unwillingness to admit mistakes.

First and foremost, we need to take care of our soul, and only then consider our spiritual and physical well-being. Jesus Christ said: «No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money». This means that it is impossible to pursue two goals simultaneously. The primary focus for a person should be serving God, and everything else is secondary.

Love for God is more important than human life. A proud person forgets this and places life above all else. Survival becomes their primary desire. For the sake of survival, they may first give up faith, prayer, and then morality, and everything that makes a person humane.

Worshiping life leads to its loss. One can only worship God, and the meaning of life can only be the love for God, which is unity with Him and a striving towards Him. All other goals - life, family, relationships, power, success, health - are secondary. If a person lacks love for God, the pursuit of these goals can harm the soul. Love for God is expressed through serving Him and obeying His commandments.

Pride is overcome through continuous devotion to God, accepting the Creator's will, acknowledging His primacy, and recognizing His absolute power. A person overcomes pride when love in their soul is more important to them than life, justice, and all other goods.

It is essential to keep love in the soul, increasing it, and feel that the Divine will is manifested in everything, then pride will not arise as a result of distancing from God. When we feel God's presence and understand that everything comes from the Creator, we can maintain love in any situation.