Seven Deadly Sins of The Zombie Apocalypse: Pride

In a zombie apocalypse, there are many ways we can be the architect our own destruction. Our pride can easily be our undoing.

I’ve been having a hard time lately thinking of what to write, until, my friend Jake Elman suggested to me this idea.

Initially, I wanted to use this premise to frame the many “That Guy”s I’ve discussed before. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how great of an opportunity this actually was.

I realize now this is a chance to lay out seven lessons (Which will continue throughout the week) about how to avoid disaster in a zombie apocalypse by seeing how the “sins” can create those disasters.

Avoid doing these things at all cost. Our first is…

Pride

Pride is synonymous with our opinion of ourselves. When in excess, it can lead us to believe too highly of ourselves, making us blind to our flaws.

Yet, other times, it makes us all too aware of those flaws. The humble person is one who faces these flaws, accepts them, and tries to overcome them.

The proud person refuses to acknowledge these shortcomings. They will often become defensive when others address said shortcomings, believing them some kind of slight upon their character.

A great example of this is one of my favorite The Walking Dead characters: Allen.

Allen, I believe, was a relatively misunderstood character. I think he was a relatively good person who became desperate after his wife, Donna’s, death as he, his family, Tyreese and Sasha reached The Prison.

One thing that was not misunderstood about him was his poor relationship with Tyreese.

That poor relationship stemmed from Allen’s ego. As he recounts it, after Tyreese saved Donna’s life during an encounter with walkers on the way to Atlanta, she clung to his side for protection.

Unbeknownst to Tyreese, however, was how much this bothered Allen, who felt this was a sign of his late wife’s lack of confidence in his ability to protect her or their son, Ben.

How does this lead to his demise? Well, when Tyreese and Sasha, horrified at Woodbury’s use of biters as shock troops, refused to partake, Allen angrily rebuked Tyreese, and offered to do it instead. He berated Tyreese for, essentially, protecting his family, clearly feeling humiliated at what he thought was his wife feeling him inadequate, despite Tyreese trying to assure him otherwise.

Rather than stay with his friends, Allen and Ben threw their support fully behind The Governor, opting to help him however they could. Eventually, Allen would lead the Woodbury army inside The Prison, in an ultimately futile assault.

After Karen and others deemed the mission suicidal, they refused to go back. In an insane rage, The Governor snapped, killing most of his army, including Allen.

If only Allen’s ego weren’t so fragile, he might have stayed with Tyreese and Sasha. If he had, he might not have been there for The Governor to kill.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” — Proverbs 16:18

Do you want to learn more of to survive a zombie apocalypse (That isn’t quite so biblical)? Pick up a copy of my book: The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!