In the meridian of time the Savior delivered a parable concerning one who trusted in his riches: “Take heed,” the Lord warned, “and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine case, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” Jesus then reinforced the poignant lesson of the parable: “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21.)
“Let Not This Pride… Destroy Your Souls”
Pride destroys the soul through deflecting one’s gaze from the things of eternity: through causing one to focus his affections upon things other than the true and living God, upon things that are temporal and temporary and fleeting. “Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right,” President Ezra Taft Benson observed. Rather, “it looks sideways to man and argues who is right.
Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention. Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where he was. The devil wanted to be above men. Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done.”
Indeed, President Benson declared: “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.” (CR, April 1986, p. 61 italics in original.)