Judging Others

St. Makarious
 “Christians therefore ought to strive continually, and
never to pass judgment on anyone – no, not upon the
harlot on the street, or upon open sinners and disorderly
persons – but to regard all men with singleness of
intention and purity of eye, so that it may become like a
fixed law of nature to despise no one, to judge no one,
to abhor no one, to make no distinctions between them.
If you see a man with one eye, be not divided in your
heart, but look upon him as if he were whole. If a man
is maimed of one hand, see him as not maimed, the
lame as straight, the palsied as whole. This is purity of
heart, when you see sinners or sick people, to have
compassion on them and be tender-hearted towards
them.”
 We are better than they are…
 Superficial behavior or traits:
 Intelligence/Knowledge
 Appearance
 Speech – Accent, vocabulary,
reading/speaking ability cursing
 Position – How important are they?
 Possessions – Money, car, house, etc
 St. James
 James 2:1-4
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2
For if there should come into your assembly a
man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there
should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the
fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a
good place,” and say to the poor man, “You
stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4
have you not shown partiality among yourselves,
and become judges with evil thoughts?
 Reflects a wrong set of priorities in us.
 We do not trust God for giving us our gifts
and talents, but we think that we are
responsible for the blessings we receive.
 A man who feels indebted to his master,
will not very easily feel that he is better
than another man.
 Spiritual/Moral behavior:
 I can judge someone that commits a sin
or has a weakness that I believe if I were
in their place I would not have committed.
 How much faith do they have?
 What kind of attitude do they have?
 How do they behave?
 Pharisee and Tax Collector
 Luke 18:9-14
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one
a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You
that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a
week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax
collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise
his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be
merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went
down to his house justified rather than the other; for
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted.”
 What if we are indeed more spiritual than
another? Does that give us the right to
condemn them?
 St. Makarious said we should not even
judge harlots.
 Reasons not to judge
 We do not know the circumstances that lead
that person to commit the sin they committed or
to be in the circumstance that they are in.
 We don’t know what happened to them that
day, or what kind of negative experiences they
have had in their lives
 We don’t know how hard that person tried to
keep themselves from committing the sin
 We don’t know the level of temptation they
experienced
 Pope Shenouda
 “When we see a brother or sister in sin,
there are two things we do not know:
First, we do not know how hard he or she
tried not to sin. And second, we do not
know the power of the forces that assailed
him or her. We also do not know what we
would have done in the same
circumstances.” – HH Pope Shenouda
 God looks at the heart
 1 Samuel 16:6-7
6 So it was, when they came, that he
looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the
LORD’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the
LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his
appearance or at his physical stature,
because I have refused him. For the LORD
does not see as man sees; for man looks
at the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart.”
 We judge those that commit sins
that we also commit
 Example: We label someone that cuts us
off in traffic as a horrbile driver.
 When I am selfish, I feel justified because
I must meet my needs, but when other
people are selfish I look down on them.
 St. Paul
 Romans 2:1-3
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man,
whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you
judge another you condemn yourself; for you
who judge practice the same things. 2 But we
know that the judgment of God is according to
truth against those who practice such things. 3
And do you think this, O man, you who judge
those practicing such things, and doing the
same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
 Judging reveals a lack of
compassion
 Romans 2:4-7
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness,
forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that
the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5
But in accordance with your hardness and your
impenitent heart you are treasuring up for
yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will
render to each one according to his deeds”: 7
eternal life to those who by patient continuance
in doing good seek for glory, honor, and
immortality;
 Judging reveals the high opinion
we have of ourselves
 When I judge others I place myself in a place of
authority, being able to discern the motives and
struggle of the person I judge.
 I am qualified to place people into categories.
 I have the best understanding of all matters and
impose my opinion on others.
 If I would be given authority and charge of the
situation, everything would be wonderful…but as it is
now everyone around me is not managing it well
 A judgmental person cannot admit he is wrong
since that would make him fallible just like those
he judges.
 Judging blinds us to our own sins
 Matthew 7:1-5
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what
judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the
measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And
why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but
do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how
can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck
from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from
your brother’s eye.
 When we are focused on the mistakes of others, we
neglect to see our own faults and mistakes.
 God will judge us with the same
measure by which we judge others
 Luke 6:37-39
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be
judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be condemned. Forgive, and you will be
forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to
you: good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, and running over will be
put into your bosom. For with the same
measure that you use, it will be measured
back to you.”
 We should encourage others to
overcome their weaknesses
 Galatians 6:1
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any
trespass, you who are spiritual restore
such a one in a spirit of gentleness,
considering yourself lest you also be
tempted.
 The goal is to build up others, and not
tear them down.
 Daily Self-Examination
 “Strange enough that we judge the others strictly for
their faults against us, but do not judge ourselves with
the same strictness, or rather we do not judge ourselves
at all! If you really want to attain the fear of God which
is the beginning of the spiritual way, for "The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov 9: 10), you have
to examine yourself every day, what you have done or
said or thought of. This is what St. Arsanius the Great
did every day. You ought not to examine yourself only
with respect to the passive actions you did, but also for
the positive things you neglected to do. You will find
yourself light on the scales.” -- HH Pope Shenouda
 Psalm 50
 “For I am conscious of my iniquity; and my sin is at all
times before me. Against You only I have sinned, and
done evil before You: that You might be just in Your
sayings, and might overcome when You are judged.”
 We should not feel that we have mastered any virtue or
that we are above any sin, but to always see ourselves
as sinners. By examining ourselves we see ourselves
more inline with how God sees us, sins and all. This will
help us to avoid condemning others because we will be
very aware that we commit the same sins of which we
accuse them.
 Examples of not judging
 John 8:3-11
3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught
in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to
Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be
stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that
they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus
stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though
He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised
Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let
him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and
wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by
their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest
even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing
in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one
but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers
of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one,
Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin
no more.”
 In the days of St. Makarious there was a monk that was
repeatedly committing adultery in the monastery. His
fellow monks found out about what was happening and
told St. Makarious who was the abbot. They told him
that they would give him proof and waited for the woman
to come into the monk’s cell and then call St. Makarious
to come to the cell and catch them in the act. When the
monk knew that they were coming in, he hid the woman
under a large basket in his cell. St. Makarious knew what
he had done and went in and sat on the basket. The
other monks came and searched the cell, and did not find
anyone. They were too embarrassed to ask St.
Makarious to stand up to search under him. When they
didn’t find anyone, St. Makarious rebuked them for
accusing their brother. After seeing what St. Makarious
did, the adulterous monk repented of his sin and St.
Makarious heard a voice from heaven saying, “Blessed
are you Makarious for you have covered the sins of
others.”
 St. Makarious’ goal was the repentance of the monk.
The other monks’ goal was punishment of the monk.
 Good judging
 Discern the difference between right and wrong.
 Avoid people that encourage us to sin or are a
bad influence.
 Judge when we should rebuke or disciple
someone under our authority.
 Judge when we commit a sin.
 The focus here is protecting ourselves and doing
God’s will…not condemning other people. That is
God’s job, not ours.