He Preserved Himself from Judging Others

If we always kept in mind the lives and sayings of our holy fathers and studied them continually, it would be difficult for us to neglect ourselves and fall into sin. If, as they advise, we do not despise the ‘small things’, the things which to us seem unimportant, we will not fall into great and grievous things. But if we start by saying about the small things, ‘What importance has this or that?’ we become accustomed to their neglect and we start to disregard the important things as well. For instance, we know well what a great sin it is to judge our neighbor. What does God hate and dislike more? Yet judging our neighbor sometimes feels like second nature to us. How is it (we ask in astonished ignorance) that we have wandered down this road of judgment yet once more?

What does God hate and dislike more? Yet judging our neighbor sometimes feels like second nature to us. 

In the life of St. Paisios the Athonite*, a monk of Mount Athos who reposed in the Lord in 1994 and was recently canonized, I recently read three lines which showed to me the extent to which we often neglect the ‘small things’ that lead us to judgment of our neighbor.‘Fr. Paisios dwelt deeply on the thought that his own spiritual failures and lack of love were the cause of his neighbor’s shortcomings, as well as of the world’s ills. He harshly accused himself, pushing himself to greater self-denialand more fervent prayer for his soul and for thewhole world.’

Thus far we may rank this among the many saintly examples of extreme humility and courageous asceticism: it is instructive, we know, but we feel it is beyond our own ability, outside the purview of our circumstances. We have families and jobs and bills. We fear an unhealthy focus on our spiritual failures will lead us into depression. Besides, where can we find the time for greater self-denial and more fervent prayer?

But then this passage in the life of the holy Elder culminates in this line: ‘Furthermore, he cultivated the habit of always seeking the “good reason” for a potentially scandalous event and for people’s actions, and in this way he preserved himself from judging others.’

Are we scandalized by the strange behavior of our neighbor? Give him the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to a bad day. Be reminded of his virtues, don’t dwell on his vices. The holy fathers are full of advice along these lines. When one father was asked, ‘What kind of person is he, Father?’ he would always say: ‘He is a holy man.’ Another father said: ‘Always place a question mark on your judgments, for you do not know what really may be going on’. A third said, with true spiritual discernment: ‘From the things you hear against someone, you should not believe anything, and out of what you see, believe half. And not even half for many pretend to be fools. Do not judge anyone.’

About this time someone usually raises the following question: ‘What if someone is getting hurt? You can’t just let evil go unchecked.’ This brings us to the ‘small thing’ hidden in this passage. We might be surprised to find why we feel compelled to judge our neighbor. The honest answer to the question is, I think, that most of the time there’s a pretty clear distinction between truly harmful occasions that call for correction and the majority of the times we are judging someone. Not judging is not about letting sin go about its business; it’s about not compounding it. The rest of the time, however, we judge the sins of others in order to hide our own sinfulness.

The Elder was conscious of his own sinfulness even to the point of blaming himself for the sins of others because that is how sin is diminished in this world: we start with our own.

It is also how he managed to not neglect the ‘small things’ and avoided judging his neighbor. In my sinfulness I might say, ‘What does it matter if I listen to and repeat this story?’, thereby forgetting my own sins and gossiping, progressing to condemnation, slander and disregard of my brother, ultimately taking upon myself Christ’s judgment and becoming an antichrist. The Elder, on the other hand, put himself below everyone else, accused himself instead of others, and thereby found peace. We must as he says elsewhere, ‘turn the dial to humility, for God always works in this frequency’, and thereby cut out judgment of our neighbor so as to be freed from worldly anxiety, so that we might live in peace with God and man.

*(Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit, Protecting Veil Press, p. 126)