The Lord says, listen to my words. They are not to be interpreted according to the vain pleasure of the listener, but they must be listened to in silence and received with all humility and great affection. Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God. Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your visitation. I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue. Those who possess my words yet spurn them earn their own judgment on the last day.

–Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ 3.3

Here’s a little test for you. How do you receive this writing from a Kempis? Does it irritate you and/or seem strange to you, or do you see it as loving counsel for the beloved? How you answer will give you insight into the level and depth of your pride.