So far, Father Maxime, you spoke of hedonism as one of the key passions that obstructs our vision of God. What about philodoxy? I asked.
Oh yes, the love of glory. Ordinary human beings love to be admired and glorified. They love to feel superior to others. This is a form of human pathology. What we call pride, egotism, vanity, arrogance, rudeness, and the like are, according to Saint John Climacus, the children and grandchildren of the passion for glory, of philodoxy.
With the Fall, Father Maximos continued, our divine pride degenerated into passion and sinfulness. it became vanity and hubris toward God. Human beings ended up believing in themselves, becoming autonomous, craving praise and glorification for their worldly achievements. They became content in this false image of themselves.
If philoponia is the cure for hedonism then what is the cure for philodoxy? Patrick asked.
The cure is to stay alert and take advantage of those episodes in our lives that will subvert our propensity for self-glorification.
Excerpts from: Gifts of the Desert, The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality by Kyriacos C. Markides
