It is, however, with pride as a hinderance to the reception of the gospel that we are here speaking more particularly. Other prophets also represent pride as a leading cause of the apostasy of Israel, and of the rejection of Jehovah, by the Moabites and other ancient tribes. For pride will not seek the knowledge of God. It sometimes becomes such an excessive passion as to lift men above all rivalship. They cannot bear the thought that there is any being superior to them, and in their ignorance of the infinite perfections of God they find a source of great complacency.
Pride is also essentially unwilling to be taught.
What it does not know is not worth knowing. It does not admit for a moment either that there are minds of superior culture and knowledge than can impart instruction to it. And even if the means of acquiring knowledge without an instructor are within its reach, it will not use them. That such is the real and essential nature of this passion can often be seen in matters of less moment than those pertaining to the interests of the soul. Take the young man in the rural district whose heart has become inflamed with this passion.