Ben Seewald, husband of Duggar daughter Jessa, just released a blog post preaching about the sins of pride and self-confidence. The Duggar family is, of course, known for proclaiming their beliefs, as well as promoting their show and brand across social media, at homeschooling conferences, at political gatherings, and generally in any place where people will listen. Was Jessa’s husband aiming a deliberate blow at the rest of the Duggar family, or did the irony escape him?
In a blog post on the Seewald couple’s website , Ben Seewald penned a long-form devotional, explaining the evils of pride, self-confidence, and of proclaiming one’s works.
A few excerpts below show the traits Seewald calls sins:
“As long as we aren’t too arrogant, is it okay to take a little pride in our achievements? Isn’t self-confidence a virtue? The culture would say “Yes” but as Christians, we need to check God’s Word.”
“We live in a prideful, arrogant culture where pride and self-confidence are praised as virtues.”
“Instead of sinful and deceptive self-confidence…”
Note he isn’t describing “excessive pride” or “extreme pride,” but any pride at all, specifically the pride that is considered socially acceptable, such as in one’s own hard work and success.
Now, let’s take a look at Ben’s Duggar in-laws.
Here’s his sister-in-law Jill, letting her Instagram followers know she’s completed coursework to earn her ( disputed ) license to practice midwifery.
The rest of the Duggar family seemed to also take pride in Jill’s accomplishment, sharing updates about it on the Duggar Family Official Facebook page.
Speaking of Jill and Derrick, the Duggar family has really piled on the pride when it comes to the couple’s ( disputed ) missionary status.
Numerous other posts on the Duggar Family Official page speak of meetings with Jill and Derrick’s supporters, Jill and Derrick’s study of Spanish, Jill’s parenting skills, Jill’s midwifery skills, and even Jill’s recipes.
It’s not just the rest of the Duggar family sharing their pride in Jill, either. The third Duggar daughter is free with sharing her own pride in herself and her husband as they travel, study Spanish, and raise their son. She’s also not played shy in proudly promoting the upcoming TLC specials featuring the two married Duggar sisters.
Even those who most strongly oppose the Duggar family’s fame and beliefs would hardly fault anyone for being proud of and work and success or fault any family for pride in their children. There’s no reason the Duggar family shouldn’t brag about their daughter’s studying (even if there is a question about the motives).
However, Duggar son-in-law Ben Seewald firmly condemned pride in one’s own works and bragging about the good things one has or does. Let’s look at Jill again.
A common thread is beginning to appear here. While one Duggar sister is making sure the world knows she’s shared her donuts with hungry people, another misses an opportunity — Jessa was roundly criticized for failing to “pay it forward” when she received free coffee in a drive-through line.
Was Ben’s condemnation of bragging and pride aimed directly at his Duggar sister-in-law Jill? Or perhaps at the entire Duggar family? Despite quite a few posts about Jill recently, it’s not as though the family hasn’t displayed their pride in accomplishments by other Duggar kids.
For instance, they expressed pride when 14-year-old James Duggar recently got his license.
The Duggar Family Official page frequently shares accomplishments of their children, in fact.
However, when was the last time the Duggar parents bragged about an accomplishment from Jessa? It seems to have been July — and the “accomplishment” in question was her pregnancy. The post may even be read more as pride in another Duggar grandchild than in Jessa.
If Duggar sibling rivalry, or even condemnation of the entire Duggar family, was Ben’s motive, however, the family is either ignoring it or didn’t notice — they’ve shared it (proudly?) on the Duggar Family Official page.
You decide: Was Ben Seewald’s devotional post a jab at the Duggar family or simply an unintentional display of irony?
[Image via TLC ]
