Pride is the natural love for myself magnified into a disdain for others. Augustine called pride the foundation of sin, for “pride made the soul desert Go, to whom it should cling as the source of life, and to imagine itself instead as the source of its own life.” Jesus words come to us not as an invitation to become poor but in a way to acknowledge that we are poor in spirit. To be able to see this is the opposite of prideful.
1 Peter 5:5-8 (ESV)
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Matthew 5:1-3 (ESV)
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.