Gregory the Dialogist

But the fruit by which vain things are despised is suggested when it is added: "And the Lord will not forsake his people for the sake of his great name, because the Lord has sworn to make them a people for himself." 14. These vain things inflict a great evil upon those who turn aside after them: because while they pursue earthly things in a disordered way, they are abandoned by the supreme and omnipotent God to endure future torments. …

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 ↗