Our son Brad was a better-than-average high school football player. He played on a team that was always in contention for a state championship. His name or picture was often splashed on the Saturday morning sports page of the Lexington Leader. I've never believed kids learn much from fatherly lectures so, I always tried to communicate values through often repeated, pithy, little statements. Every Friday, before Brad went to his high school football game, I shared the words of Proverbs 16:18 — Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Today, Brad is a physician not a theologian. Nevertheless, he can easily quote Proverbs 16:18 — Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

According to Dante, pride is human sin number one, the worst of all. Acco…