The lecture explains that the sin of judgment is one of the most dangerous spiritual sins, because it is connected with other sins such as harshness, lack of love, lying, and injustice. The person who judges others often judges them quickly without knowing the truth or without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that a person does not have the right to judge the intentions of people or the thoughts of their hearts, because God alone is the examiner of hearts. Therefore, judging people according to their inner thoughts or judging their eternal destiny is considered a transgression beyond human limits.
The lecture also confirms that the person who judges others may fall into the same sin, and God may allow him to fall so that he may learn mercy and compassion toward others. Therefore, a person should have compassion on the fallen and pray for them instead of condemning them.
The lecture presents the teaching of the Lord Christ about the “speck and the beam,” where a person becomes occupied with the small faults of others while ignoring his own great sins. The true spiritual person first cares about correcting himself and examining his own heart instead of watching the faults of people.
The lecture also explains that the treatment for the sin of judgment is love, mercy, and humility, and that a person should remember his personal weakness and sins so that he does not become proud over others. Whenever a person remembers his own sins, he becomes more gentle with others.
The lecture confirms that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself did not come to judge the world but to save it, and therefore He always saw the good aspects in the people whom others judged, such as tax collectors, Samaritans, and sinners, and He encouraged repentance instead of judgment and harshness.
The lecture also warns against turning gatherings and conversations into judgment of people and spreading their news and faults, because this corrupts the heart and mind. It advises changing the conversation into beneficial spiritual topics or stories of saints instead of speaking about others.
In the end, the lecture calls every person to look first at himself, struggle against harshness and pride, and live in love and mercy, so that judgment does not become a habit or a nature that corrupts his spiritual life.
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The Sermon on the Mount – Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged Part 2