What is permissible to think, and what is a sin of condemnation?

OTHER SINS

Do not look at the sins of others, but consider your own evil, for you will not be tested about the sins of others, but you will give your word about yourself - you will be responsible for your sins.

Saint Dmitry of Rostov

Jesus Christ (Savior)

Against judging others

Judge not, and you will not be judged, condemn not, and you will not be condemned, forgive, and you will be forgiven, give, and it will be given to you: good measure, shaken together, pressed, and running over, will be poured into your bosom, for with the same measure you use, will be measured to you too. He also told them a parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? won't they both fall into the pit? A student is never higher than his teacher, but even after he has perfected himself, everyone will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the plank in your own eye? Or, as you can say to your brother: brother! Let me take the speck out of your eye, when you yourself cannot see the beam in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit, and there is no bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit, for they do not gather figs from a thorn tree, nor gather grapes from a bush. A good man brings forth good things from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil things from the evil treasure of his heart, for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks. Why do you call Me: Lord! God! - and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:37-46).

Saint Anthony the Great

If you see that your brother has sinned... do not judge him

If you see that any brother has sinned, do not despise him, do not turn away from him and do not condemn him, for otherwise you yourself will fall into the hands of your enemies.

Do not lend your ear to hear bad things (about others), but be condescendingly compassionate towards people, and you will live.

Venerable Isaac the Syrian

When someone starts to argue with his brother in front of you

Whoever accuses his brother of his vice finds an accuser in God. When someone begins to argue with his brother in front of you, lower your face. If you are unable to stop the mouth of your condemning friend, then... beware of entering into communication with him.

Saint Basil the Great

Don’t judge for unimportant things, as if you yourself are a strict righteous person

If you see your neighbor in sin, do not look at this alone, but think about what good he has done or is doing, and often, having experienced it in general, and not judging in particular, you will find that he is better than you.

Saint Gregory the Theologian

He who judges another's vice is more likely to be accused himself

Consider yourself more than the affairs of your neighbors: some benefit you, others benefit your neighbors.

It is better to hear bad things about yourself than to say bad things about others. If someone, wanting to amuse you, exposes your neighbor to ridicule, then imagine that you yourself are the subject of laughter, in which case his words will most upset you.

He who judges the vice of others is more likely to be accused himself than to put an end to the vice.

Saint John Chrysostom

Those who sort out the sins of others and do not care at all about their own

Those who deal with the sins of others do not care at all about their own. If, forgetting about yourself, you sit as a judge over others, then you insensitively accumulate for yourself only large burdens of sins. If we also want to reduce our sins, we will be most careful not to condemn our brothers, and not to allow those who invent slander against them to come to us... and completely turn away from them. That’s why we are strict judges of other people’s sins, but don’t pay any attention to our own, because we don’t know the Scriptures, because we don’t study the Divine laws.

Venerable Isidore Pelusiot

It is necessary to turn the spiritual eye from the mistakes of others to one’s own, and to accustom the tongue to speak strictly not about one’s neighbors, but about oneself, for the fruit of this is justification.

Venerable Neil of Sinai
It is a great sin to not pay attention to one’s sins
. It is a great sin for one, wounded by many iniquities, not to pay attention to one’s sins, but to be curious and talk about what is bad in others. Do not deafen your ears with gossip, lest, having sold yourself to this passion, you become a slave to many passions, because one passion, having found a place for itself in you, will introduce other passions into the same nest (or stall) and becomes a slave to many passions. the dominant mind is when, having become associated with some passion, it completely rejects ascetic labors.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

If someone sins against you, you hold them accountable

If you see that your brother is sinning, and the next morning you meet with him, then do not recognize him as a sinner in your thoughts, for you do not know that perhaps, when you left him, after his fall he did something good and appeased the Lord with sighs and bitter tears. If you hold your neighbor, who has sinned against you, accountable for the fact that he sinned against you, then you are convicting yourself that you were also able not to sin either against your neighbor or against God.

Venerable Abba Dorotheos

"Woe is me! Just as he sinned today, so will I sin tomorrow.”

Someone, seeing that his brother had sinned, sighed and said: “Woe is me! As he sinned today, so will I sin tomorrow.” Do you see the hardness? Do you see the mood of the soul? How he immediately found a way to avoid his brother’s condemnation! For by saying “so will I tomorrow,” he instilled in himself fear and concern that he too might soon sin, and thus avoided the condemnation of his neighbor.

Moreover, he was not satisfied with this, but threw himself under his feet, saying: “And he (at least) will repent of his sin, but I will not repent as I should, I will not achieve repentance, I will not be able to repent?” Do you see the enlightenment of the divine soul? He not only managed to avoid the condemnation of his neighbor, but also threw himself under his feet. We, the accursed, indiscriminately condemn, abhor, and humiliate if we see, or hear, or even suspect something, and, what’s even worse, we don’t dwell on our own harm, but when we meet another brother, we immediately tell him : “This and that happened,” and we harm him by bringing sin into his heart. And we are not afraid of Him who said: Woe to him who besieges his companion with muddy corruption (Hab. 15), but we commit a demonic deed and are careless about it. For what else can a demon do but confuse and harm? And we turn out to be the helpers of demons to our own and our neighbor’s destruction.

If a person does not notice the vices of his neighbor, then, with the help of God, goodness will be born in him, with which God is pleased.

Saint Dmitry of Rostov
Do not look at the sins of others, but consider your own evil.
Do not judge, lest you be judged, said the Lord, for by your judgment you will be judged, they will judge you, and if you measure accordingly, it will be measured to you (Matthew 20). Do not judge or admire the work (rank) of the Lord in any way, for One is the Judge - God, who has to judge the living and the dead. And you, earthly man, look after yourself, pay attention to yourself: you also have something for which you are worthy of judgment, you yourself expect judgment for your deeds - you yourself have a lot of evil. How dare you attack another? Let God, who created everything, judge everything Himself, and you humble yourself.

Don't judge if you don't want to be judged. If you were very perfect, do not judge another in any way. If you condemn, you will be guilty of the same judgment as the one who sinned. If you yourself are chaste, but condemn the unchaste, then you are equal to the one who commits fornication. If you have not sinned in anything small, but hatefully condemn someone else who sins, then you are doing the same evil that the sinner does, and you are even more sinful than that, for you are delighting in something other than your own work—the judgment of God.

Do not look at the sins of others, but consider your own evil, for you will not be tested about the sins of others, but you will give your word about yourself - you will be responsible for your sins. There is no need for you to test others: how does someone live? How does he sin? But pay attention to yourself: do you please God? are you doing what pleases God? Do you imitate the lives of the saints? will you follow in their footsteps? Is your work pleasing to God? A person who condemns others is an evil mirror that reflects everyone in himself, but does not see himself, or he who condemns others is like a foul bathhouse that washes everyone, but itself is a dirty swamp. This is how the one who judges everyone looks at everyone: how does anyone eat? How does he drink? How does he sin? He sees everything, but does not see himself. He considers it a great thing if someone sins in a small way, but he himself considers his great sins to be nothing. He wants no one to know his sins, no one to know, so that he is not despised and silent, but he himself clearly slanders, condemns and slanders everyone! It's nothing!

Do not judge or be surprised at human sin, but rather marvel at the one who is able to escape the enemy snares of this time, marvel at the one who is able to keep himself pure before God, when Satan walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 63). ): tries, cares about human destruction - wants no one to be free from his snares. So, remember your sins, because even if you don’t want to, you sin a lot and what you hate, you do kindly: willy-nilly you are captive to sin, willy-nilly you fall into crime.

And who is free from sin? Who will be found innocent of anything? Who is not involved in sin - even if only one day will he live? We were conceived in iniquities, and our mother gave birth to us in sins (Ps. 50). If not in this, then in another, if not in the great, then in the small, but we all sin, all are criminals, all are sinners, all are weak, all are prone to every sin, we all demand the mercy of God, we all demand His love for mankind: he will not be justified before Everyone who lives is Lord, says the prophet (Ps. 143).

Therefore, do not condemn the sinner, do not admire the judgment of God, do not be an opponent of Christ in what He provided to Himself. If you see with your own eyes someone who is clearly sinning, do not reproach him, do not pronounce judgment on him out of your pride, lest you yourself be subjected to the same thing, for he who condemns someone else for anything will certainly be subjected to the same thing himself. But mercifully cover his sin and treat his crime with humanity. If you can, correct it; if you cannot, then, condemning yourself, remain silent about it. Your own evil is enough for you; do not observe the sins of others.

Why do you see the blight in your brother's father's father, but do not recognize the blight in your own? - said the Lord. (Matthew 20.) You see other people’s sins, but don’t pay attention to your own. Do not condemn anyone - so that you yourself will not be condemned, like the Pharisee. Do not say as the blind Pharisee said: God, I thank Thee, for I am not like other men: predators, unrighteous women, adulterers, or like this tax collector (Luke 89). Therefore, the one condemned by him is acquitted, and he, who proudly judged him, is condemned. Do not think that everyone is sinful and you alone are righteous, everyone is evil, and you alone are good. Do not judge others, but yourself, do not reproach others, but consider yourself the worst of all, for we know no one as well as ourselves, and you cannot know anyone’s sins as well as your own shortcomings.

If you see the most evil person, do not condemn and do not say that the sinner is worthy of torment, but leave everything unknown to man to God. He knows this as the One who created everything, He will arrange everything as He knows, for He is God omnipotent. Remember the angel who brought the soul to the elder and asked where he would order it to be placed, for he mentally condemned it, as it is said in the Fatherland.

Do not be jealous or envy the one who sins, and do not take comfort in anyone’s sin, but, on the contrary, be merciful and compassionate towards the one who sins. If you can, help him rise from sin - give him a helping hand, but if you can’t, at least pray for him. For he who sins has not received great things, and the transgressor has not acquired great things; he has not made any gain, but deprivation; not consolation and joy, but sorrow and sorrow. He who has tasted sin must certainly taste sorrow. If not here, then there - it cannot be otherwise.

Do not rejoice at the fall of your neighbor, but, on the contrary, cry and weep, considering his fall as your own, because we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him; be proud of his temptation, says Solomon (Proverbs 24). Do not be comforted by the sin of another - lest demons and people rejoice over yours, for joy over sin is not great, but, on the contrary, there is sadness and fear for oneself. Only demons rejoice over the destruction of sinners, for they themselves are completely lost. A person should rejoice in human salvation - so that he himself will receive salvation and find mercy from God now and on the day of judgment, amen.

Saint Theophan the Recluse

How do we become participants in the sins of others?

Among external sins we can also include the sins of others, imputed to us, for in this case others are, as it were, the performers of our internal sin, the same as our strength and our body are for our desires. For how do we become participants in the sins of others? Because of this, if the sin they commit is our depraved desire, and in their deed we do not reveal it only in front of others, but by the very deed we have and nurture within us contempt and disrespect for the law of morality violated by others, just as this is also seen in our conscience ours. After this, it goes without saying that how much someone else’s sin is imputed to us, how great is our participation in it, and how much is our contempt for the moral law. The ways in which this is done are: an order more or less strict, advice more or less convincing, agreement with more or less pleasure, temptation more or less intentional and flattering, non-notice or tolerance with more or less indulgence, also approval, non-opposition, non-announcement . How important the sins of others can be can be judged by how sinful is the sin of a parent who does not stop his children, or an educator who does not correct the weaknesses of his pupils, or an erroneously educated person who dispels temptation everywhere with books, paintings, and statues. In general, the easier it is to stop evil and promote good, the more evil and immoral is our participation in the sins of others.

This is how things work!
Therefore, we are reminded again: it is appropriate to be sober and watchful, to pay attention to yourself and guard your heart from every attack of sinful defilement! “I don’t want to accept other people’s sins, because I have many of my own!”
In one monastery there lived a hermit. He decided to make it a rule to never take anything from anyone. One day, the elder of the city came to the monastery with alms and, having distributed a piece of silver to each monk, began to beg the recluse to accept the gold from him. The elder, not wanting to offend the honorable guest, accepted the alms.

The elder left, and the recluse, having chanted the canons and read the prescribed prayers, lay down on the matting as usual to get some sleep. What? Suddenly he saw himself standing in a field that was all covered with bad grass. Then the monks of his monastery appeared, and with them a formidable young man who ordered them to reap thorns. Then he approached him himself with the words: “Gird yourself and reap the bad grass.” The recluse began to make excuses. Then the young man said: “You have no right to shirk, for you hired yourself with your monks, taking money from the elder who was with you yesterday. So, come and reap.” At that moment the recluse woke up and immediately understood the meaning of the vision. He invited the elder who had given him alms to him and began to beg him to take his alms. When he refused, the elder said: “I don’t want to accept other people’s sins, for I have many of my own!” - He threw out the alms and closed the window of his cell. The recluse acted harshly by not accepting alms from the elder. And this is because he was afraid of responsibility for his sins.

***

The elder, having heard that a certain brother had fallen into grave sin, condemned him, saying: “He has done great evil”! After some time, he sees that an Angel is carrying the soul of his condemned brother to him, and says to him: “Here, the one you judged has died. Where do you now order his soul to be assigned, to the Kingdom or to torment? The old man was horrified. “After all, you are a judge of the righteous and sinners,” continued the Angel, “so tell me, what do you order about this soul? Will you have mercy on her or will you consign her to torment? The elder realized then that, having condemned his brother, he himself had fallen into a grave sin, and with groaning and crying he begged to forgive him. For a long time the Lord did not answer him, but finally took pity and sent an Angel to proclaim his forgiveness. “God has forgiven you,” said the Angel, “but from now on, do not forget how serious the sin of condemnation is.”

***

Abba Isaiah, having once seen his brother committing a shameful sin, did not rebuke him, but said: “If God, who created him, seeing this, does not burn him, who am I to reprove him?”

Monk Nicodemus

It is impossible for a person born in the flesh to see the spiritual world. The body, like a rough veil, hides the truth from him, why he does not see the cause-and-effect relationship of everything that happens around him and in himself. The ancient fathers considered the vision of one's sinfulness and lewdness, from the point of view of the purity (holiness) of life, to be a great good, which becomes available only after many labors of virtues have been endured in order to correct the inner man. those. cleansing the soul and mind.

People living an ordinary, passionate, vain life in the world do not see their own sins, but they see the sins of others very well, which is why judging each other is their favorite pastime... God grants vision of one’s own sins only to that person who stops judging others and heals ulcers with repentance their. And this is very important to know for those who want to be saved, because without seeing their sins, a person cannot repent of them, and having departed into another world with a load of sins unresolved by repentance, how will he be saved, violating the inviolable holy commandments of God in earthly life?

Don't lecture

So, we are all living people, we look around, notice those around us and their shortcomings, which we accept or not. In general this is normal. It is not normal when, seeing the sins of another, we begin to point out them, teach, edify - despite the fact that we are not asked to do this. This is a matter of education and internal tact: if a person does not ask, you should not say whether he is right or wrong.

There is only one group of people who have the right to point out shortcomings and sins to others - these are parents. They cannot afford to say: “I won’t say anything, otherwise I’ll offend you!” If they notice any sins and vices in a child, they should pay special attention to them. The parent is obliged to do this, it is his responsibility. Here you can also add teachers, coaches and all people working in the field of education and training.

Judgment and reasoning: how are they different from each other?

However, all this does not mean at all that we should be absolutely insensitive to any evil, to destructive human passions. Experienced confessors say that we are obliged to distinguish sin from good, that spiritual reasoning must always take place. How does reasoning differ from condemnation, and how to recognize them?

The criterion here is quite simple: if you do not feel bad feelings towards the person who acted badly, or disgust for him personally, but on the contrary, you regret him, then this is reasoning. Otherwise, it will already be a sin of condemnation. Why did the holy fathers teach that one must hate sin, but love the sinner. Sometimes, for the benefit of saving the soul of a neighbor, one can carefully rebuke him. But it is permissible to do this, according to the apostle, only in the spirit of meekness (Gal. 6:1) and love, otherwise we will only harm both ourselves and the sinner.

Related passions

Most often, condemnation is accompanied by other sinful habits associated with it, which also negatively affect a person’s spiritual development. Among them are the following:

• envy;
• rancor;
• gloat;
• self-aggrandizement;
• ridicule;
• suspicion;
• curiosity;
• complacency;
• slander;
• vindictiveness.

You can get rid of most of them if you defeat the sin of condemnation within yourself. How to do this?

Learning to love and pray

The main thing that an Orthodox person must learn is to separate sin from the sinner. If we do not know how to talk about sin without blaming a person, it is better for us to remain silent. This will be a manifestation of love, which is definitely more important than judging a person. It is advisable not to judge at all who is more sinful and who is less. The Savior said: “Or do you think that those eighteen people on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them were more guilty than all those living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way” (Luke 13:4-5).

It is not our task to determine the degree of sinfulness of other people. Our job is to show them love. How can I do that? After praying! People often think that a sinful person can only be changed through moral teaching or some kind of active help. If he refuses this help and does not want to listen to moral teachings, then it is considered that nothing more can be done to help. But this is not so: we can pray for him. If the Lord teaches us to pray for our enemies, then all the more we need to do this in relation to those we care about. Prayer can and should be offered for everyone—the baptized and the unbaptized, those of other faiths, and criminals. Eucharistic communion occurs only between Christians, but a personal appeal to God can be about anyone - even about your favorite musicians, writers and actors, why not? Prayer is the best thing we can do for those we love and those who annoy us.

So, let's summarize. If you constantly notice the sins of other people, then:

• pay attention - maybe in this way they show you how you yourself are sinful;
• try to understand that the other person is just as damaged by sin as you are;
• try to find out the reasons why a person sins - it could be an illness, problems of upbringing, features of the path of life and much more;
• learn to separate sin from man, try to show your neighbors, if not love, then at least understanding;
• remind yourself that while a person is alive, he can become a better person;
• pray for those whose sins irritate you, this is very important for both you and the one who sins.

Priest Dimitry Palamarchuk

Causes of vice

One of the causes of vice is pride. A proud person is not able to impartially assess his shortcomings. However, he notices that the rest, by his standards, do everything wrong, even eat and sleep, to say nothing of serious sins. His own pride clouds his eyes, and a person no longer sees that he himself is more sinful before God than those whom he condemns. By accusing a person, we seem to elevate ourselves in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, humiliating the accused and elevating ourselves above him.

And also in people’s lives there is a lot of anger, and this is especially dangerous, since the devil is always next to evil. He was the first to slander God, condemn him, and then began to tempt people. Condemnation is a demonic state that begins from a lack of love. We should not blame or even listen to those who accuse, since this is also a sin. The right to condemn and judge belongs only to God. Only he has the power to pardon or punish.

Condemnation is a powerful devilish weapon that blocks our spiritual life, depriving us of the opportunity to sincerely pray to God, plunging him into sinful passions.

Also, the causes of sinful reproach are such human vices as rancor, suspicion, vindictiveness, ridicule, gloating, complacency, slander.

God allows temptation to those who have the sin of condemnation. When a person becomes proud or accuses his neighbor, temptation creeps into his soul, after going through which a person must learn a lesson, feel true values ​​and humility.

Opposite Virtues

What positive human qualities can be contrasted with the condemnation of others? These include, for example, the following:

• philanthropy;
• impartiality (treating everyone equally);
• condescension;
• mercy;
• sacrifice;
• love for neighbors;
• compassion.

By improving in them, it is possible to achieve great spiritual development and bring true repentance. Now it will be confirmed not only by words, but also by actions.

Why can't you judge a person?

Good human deeds and deeds, as a rule, are not discussed, and they are quickly forgotten. But everything bad is remembered for a very long time and is condemned while it is remembered. We often simply do not understand why it is unacceptable to brand ourselves with contempt when faced with violence, horrific cruelty, and so on.

Christ gave us an example of treating people kindly, something we should all strive for. He did not condemn the harlot, did not condemn the people who refused him food and shelter, did not condemn Judas and the robber, he treated them with pity and love. Jesus called only the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees “serpents,” “brood of vipers.” It was in their hands that the highest power was, and it was they who arrogated to themselves the right to judge, pronounce sentences and put them into effect...

Any condemnation is a great sin in Christianity. In all people, God has laid a craving for everything good, for goodness. And when we condemn someone’s actions, we set a bar below which we ourselves should not fall. Therefore, condemnation has the right to act on the person himself. This is exactly how the wonderful rule of spiritual life works: “With the kind of judgment you judge, you will be judged.” We all need to learn to separate the sinner from his ungodly actions. We must love the people who have sinned and despise sin. After all, every person has a piece of God.

Important questions

If you notice that a certain person is sinning, then before you say anything or react in any way, it would be nice to figure out whether it is a sin, whether he consciously does bad things or not. Sometimes some actions are the result of improper upbringing or some life circumstances that we do not know. For example, a person steals. It is a sin? Yes. And if he has kleptomania, then this is no longer a sin, but a disease.

When an Orthodox Christian walks around and denounces everyone around him, it is a very sad sight. If we tell a person about his sin without the desire to help, we cannot say anything. Yes, situations are different, sometimes it happens that you cannot remain silent. If your conscience does not allow you to remain silent, there is no need, but even in this case you need to behave delicately. You need to be able to tell the truth, moreover, you need to learn to understand whether a person is ready to accept this truth. More often than not, he will deny your statement. Does it make sense to point out sins to someone who is closing himself off from the truth?

It’s not our job to denounce at all. You can honestly tell a friend what you think about his sins, but you need to be careful with strangers. We live in a society that takes criticism very negatively, so people need to be approached very gently when talking about sins. When they themselves ask some questions, then you are welcome, but before that it is better to avoid sharp corners, because people immediately close down, feeling some kind of threat and fearing that they will be denounced and scolded.