On Judging Others
O sinner, restrain yourself from judging your neighbor. Even if you see someone sinning with your own eyes, strive as much as you can not to judge him, for the Son of God alone is the Judge of all. Leave the burden of your neighbor to the Almighty. Beware, you should concern yourself with correcting your own iniquities, for you shall render an account for your own sins, not those of others. Do not reject God’s commandments given to you not to judge so that you shall not be judged [Luke 6:37]; justify your neighbor and do not condemn him. Do not be like a bathhouse, which exposes and washes away the impurity of others yet remains itself always full of filth. Do not rejoice at a neighbor’s fall; for only demons and the adversaries of our salvation rejoice in this, because they themselves have already perished and cannot rise again. Strive not to judge, but rather to pray, weep, and lament for those who fall, and to rejoice over the one who rises from his fall and finds salvation, so that you yourself may not be condemned by the righteous Judge at the fearful judgment. Strive to be justified before the Almighty; say always within yourself, “Who am I? I am a sinner and a transgressor of the law.” Therefore, you ought to accuse yourself, not others, according to the word: “First state your deeds of lawlessness, that you may be justified” (Isaiah 43:26).
Heed, beloved brother, God’s Providence, which teaches us caution so that we may guard ourselves in every way against judging others; a word concerning this is found in the Prologue for the 27th day of September. There was a man of holy life who heard from a brother about another brother—that he had fallen into fornication—and the man of holy life, sighing, spoke these words: “Oh! That brother has done an evil thing.” A terrible vision appeared to him for those words. After some time, the Holy Angel, by God’s command, brought the soul of the sinner before the one who had condemned him and said, “Behold the one you judged has died. Where do you command that he be placed: in the Kingdom or in torment?” The elder was astonished. The Angel spoke to the elder again: “Since you are a judge of the righteous and the sinners, say what you decree regarding this humble soul: will you show mercy, or consign it to torments?” Having said this, he vanished. That man condemned himself; for the rest of his life he remained in bitter sorrow and inconsolable weeping. He fell at the Holy Angel’s feet, begging for forgiveness, and was finally forgiven through tears and repentance.
On the 22nd of October, the Prologue records the words of the holy man John Sabaite, who spoke of himself stating, “I heard of a certain brother who had an evil reputation, and I said, ‘Alas!’ Then, in the terrible dream, I saw myself standing at the place of execution, and the Lord Jesus Christ standing between two thieves. I rushed to bow down before Him, but as I drew near, I saw Christ turn to the angels standing by and say to them: ‘Cast this man out, for he is an Antichrist to Me; he condemned his brother before My Judgment.’ As I was being cast out, and just as I reached the doorway, my mantle was caught and was left behind. I woke up immediately, and when the brother came to me, I said: ‘This is an evil day for me.’ The brother asked, ‘Why?'” Then I recounted to him the whole vision—how I had lost God’s protection and grace, and how, in accordance with the Lord’s word, I spent seven years wandering the wilderness, tasting no bread, seeking no shelter, and conversing with no human being, until I saw my Lord, Who returned my mantle to me. Consider, O sinner, that it belongs to God alone to justify and condemn His creatures; He sees the deeds and thoughts of all, and judges each according to their strength and understanding. Who can comprehend God’s inscrutable judgments and judge a neighbor? The Lord alone is the Maker and Creator of all; He alone searches the hearts and thoughts. Examine yourself diligently in all things, lest you be judging your own vice in the sin of another. Is it not a terrible thing when you, acting as if you are sinless and blameless torment your neighbor for a minor fault, while not seeing and not sensing your own numerous transgressions? The Lord, your Creator, bears your lawlessness for a time, yet you condemn and reproach your brother for his sin, not considering that you are provoking the Lord to withdraw His patience from you and to condemn you for eternity.
Guard yourself, lest you appear empty-handed before God. If you possess any goodness, do not boast of it, rather, strive to excel in doing good works, and show yourself to be renewed, righteous, and transformed for the better in every respect to the measure of the God-pleasing deeds. Be a true Christian who makes vows to God, builds a dwelling-place for virtues within the heart, and fulfills those vows without delay. Life in this world is deceptive, labor is fruitless, and worldly honor is fleeting and hollow. Woe to those who place their hope in it. It is for this reason, many die without repentance. Blessed and thrice-blessed are those who withdraw from the world and its lusts.
