Deuteronomy 8:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Pride, excessive indulgence in food, the pursuit of material wealth, laziness, and the love of pleasure characterize the sin of Sodom. This leads to a neglect of God, fostering the illusion that the treasures of this world are everlasting and that there will always be an abundance of essential provisions, as indicated in Ezekiel 16.

When you postpone the fulfillment of your promise, you are not truly honoring it. A vow serves as a plea for divine blessings, accompanied by an obligation to express gratitude through reciprocal actions. Thus, once you have received what you requested, delaying your response is an act of ingratitude. Yet, some individuals overlook their obligations, either due to carelessness or emboldened by pride and an unfeeling disposition, they attribute their fortunes solely to their own merits, failing to acknowledge the true Giver and viewing themselves as the architects of their prosperity. A third, albeit less egregious sin, involves those who acknowledge God as the source of their blessings but maintain that they are entitled to them based on their own wisdom and virtues.

The idea that one should not become arrogant due to triumph over desires is also conveyed by the prophet Moses, who stated: ‘when you eat and are filled, and build good houses and dwell in them, and when you have plenty of cattle and small cattle, and have plenty of silver and gold, and have plenty of all things, - then see that your heart is not moved, and that you do not forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness.’ It is impossible to conquer our desires without divine assistance, and through our victories over them, we should not seek to elevate ourselves.

In the Scriptures, those with pride are similarly referred to as the lofty-minded. A person who elevates himself above others in his heart—whether in his approach to faith or in his understanding of God—represents a significant danger. He risks plunging into the depths of irreverence. Due to his desire to be distinct from the masses, he may either fabricate a sense of identity for himself or readily adopt new, contrived beliefs that are marked by an air of sophistication and peculiarity. Frequently, to distinguish himself from ordinary individuals, he repudiates the clearest truths, including the reality of God, the immortality of the soul, and similar doctrines. Thus, he is rightly recognized as a creator of heresies (1 Tim. 6:4-10).