Pride and Joy (Proverbs 16)

More then a few verses in Proverbs 16 talk about how it is better to be humble and poor than prideful and wealthy. It's an artful way to show spiritual wealth and poverty prioritized over temporal, and alludes to the eternal nature of our heart over the treasures of the world.

In verse 5, it describes a proud heart as an abomination to the Lord. Oftentimes in the scriptures the word abomination is used to describe idol worship and sacrifice. Pride is the root of idolatry. It sets our hearts on something other than our Savior, usually "the work of [our] own hands, that which [our] own fingers have made" (2 Nephi 12:8).

This is a continued theme throughout Proverbs. In chapter 3 we learned to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. The knowledge, instruction, and wisdom throughout Proverbs teaches us to put aside our wants and follies and trust the Lord. We lose our life to find it. We cast off our burdens to take on the yoke of Christ. As we choose to do His work and cast aside our cares and pride, that is where we find happiness. People search tirelessly for pleasure and what they believe is happiness, yet it alludes many. The answer is that in order to find true joy, we must let go of the things we think will make us happy and pursue charity and selflessness, do the work of God, assist in the work of salvation, immortality, and eternal life. We must lose our life to find it, but the life we find is not our own, it is Christ's. It's counter intuitive, to let go of what we love to find happiness, but like a child growing and learning that there are better sources of joy past the infantile pursuits of youth, so are we children learning that our games and passions are fleeting and that we must find a greater, everlasting purpose and joy, or we must remain unhappy. It requires change, but change is central to the gospel. It is difficult, but we are not asked to do it alone, we are asked to share the yoke with our Savior, and He will show us how to, and help us, find joy.