It is not right to judge anyone, even if you have
seen someone sinning and wallowing in the violations of God’s laws with your
own eyes, as is said in the word of God: "Judge not, that ye be not
judged" (Mt. 7:1). "Who art thou that judgest another man’s
servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up:
for God is able to make him stand" (Rom. 14:4). It is much better
always to bring to memory the words of the apostle: "Wherefore let him
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12).
One must not harbor anger or hatred towards a
person that is hostile toward us. On the contrary, one must love him and do as
much good as possible towards him, following the teaching of our Lord Jesus
Christ: "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you"
(Mt. 5:44). If then we will try to fulfill all this to the extent of our power,
we can hope that God’s light will begin to shine in our hearts, lighting our
path to the heavenly Jerusalem.
Why do we judge our neighbors? Because we are not
trying to get to know ourselves. Someone busy trying to understand himself has
no time to notice the shortcomings of others. Judge yourself — and you will
stop judging others. Judge a poor deed, but do not judge the doer. It is
necessary to consider yourself the most sinful of all, and to forgive your
neighbor every poor deed. One must hate only the devil, who tempted him. It can
happen that someone might appear to be doing something bad to us, but in
reality, because of the doer's good intentions, it is a good deed. Besides, the
door of penitence is always open, and it is not known who will enter it sooner
— you, "the judge," or the one judged by you.
Return to the first page
