No sin was too small for Chrysostom to notice and then rebuke, but his ideal was not for all Christians to become ascetics. He insisted that people could live in the city, with jobs and families, and lead perfectly acceptable Christian lives. In order to do this, however, catechumens and baptized Christians required a great deal of instruction before they could sort out the non-Christian and/or sinful habits from their daily lives. Because of the difference between Chrysostom's view of the world and that of the majority of his congregation, there was no basis of common sense or inherited values that could assume the burden of coordinating the laity's reality with the clergy's expectations. Even though a gap between ideals and practice is present in any society, in the late fourth century innumerable behaviors reflected ancient traditions while ambitious church leaders aimed to change them as thoroughly as possible.

Chrysostom knew what he was up against when he took on what he called the “tyranny of ancient custom.” He knew that the unconscious repetition of actions and thoughts ingrained into daily activities was a powerful force to reckon with, especially when it involved religion: “When the custom is related to doctrines, it becomes even more established. For one would change anything more willingly than matters of religion.” Chrysostom was also aware that this had always been a difficult problem.