Pride comes before a fall

Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 9-14)

There is a well-known proverb that states that "pride comes before a fall." The old adage serves as a reminder of the Gospel which says he who exalts himself will be humiliated. Those who proudly glorify themselves believe that they are righteous only because they perform acts that they consider good. Thus, such people feel capable and even obliged to judge others, even giving them advice when it is not necessary. In actual fact, boastful persons play God, since the judgement of souls belongs to the Creator alone, not to creatures. We, on the other hand, are only entitled to God's judgement of our behaviour. Perhaps we should start by paying attention to our own actions. Then, we will discover our own sins and will not have time to comment on the mistakes of others. Let's keep this in mind.