When we encounter a particularly prideful person, we think, “What an ego!”
St. Antony the Great, however, says the problem is much worse: “Having fallen from his heavenly rank through pride, the devil constantly strives to bring down also all those who wholeheartedly wish to approach the Lord; and he uses the same means which caused his own downfall, that is pride and love of vainglory.”
He tells us that this is a problem because “…if a man lacks extreme humility, if he is not humble with all his heart, all his mind, all his spirit, all his soul and body – he will not inherit the kingdom of God.”