Every day we face judgment. We seem to have a program to blame everyone and everything. We judge people based on our own concepts, weaknesses and advantages, sometimes humiliating and insulting others. How to understand the sin of condemnation? It can be different for the same sin, especially when it concerns oneself, a loved one. We can always justify ourselves and the people we love. Yes, and their own mistakes do not seem so serious, but the same sins of others are simply humiliating, dirty and unbearable. The meaning of the sin of condemnation is always a negative assessment of a person, his actions, an accusation.
In many religions, judgment is normal. People were not only condemned, but also severely punished physically for their sins, up to and including the death pen alty. We consider this natural: the crime must be punished, and retribution must overtake the sinner. But in Orthodoxy, the sin of condemnation is consideredserious.
In Orthodoxy
In the Gospel, condemnation is considered one of the gravest sins, which leads to a departure from Christ, loss of love, and spiritual loss. Most people are not divided into two opposite camps, and in each of us there is both evil and good in different proportions. Therefore, in our attitude towards people, above all, there must be forgiveness, all-encompassing forgiveness, since we ourselves must constantly be forgiven.
People often do not see anything reprehensible in their behavior, their words, thoughts. We must consciously approach our actions, pay great attention to thoughts in which we can condemn someone, and this is also a great sin. We have no right to judge people. Jesus Christ himself, being crucified on the cross, begged the Father to forgive those who did this, believing that they did not understand their actions … Jesus Christ justified such an atrocity in relation to himself, how can we condemn people for some sins, sometimes not at all concerning us personally?
Concept
To condemn means to evaluate the negative aspects of the character, the actions of another person. Condemnation is always a negative opinion about a person, when they characterize his shortcomings with prejudice, look for guilt in something, convict him of something unworthy, treat him with distrust, with disapproval.
In Orthodoxy, the sin of condemnation is considered a sign of vanity. These are the consequences of hatred, this is heart emptiness, the loss of love, this is a very dangerous state of the human soul.
Sometimes we make fun of someone else's sinsjust for fun, and, as a rule, this happens in the form of gossip without the presence of the condemned. We do not at all think that tomorrow we will not only be objects of fun, but will also have to appear before God's judgment. Then we are unlikely to be laughing, because to condemn is to judge. We all suffer from censure of our neighbor, sometimes not even paying attention to our own words. But condemnation is the gravest sin. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned," says the Gospel of Matthew.
Danger of sin
We literally condemn someone in every conversation, sometimes considering it our infallibility, education. By doing this, we simply destroy our souls, blocking the further growth of our spiritual life, leading our souls away from Christ, and this is dangerous for ourselves. The condemnation of a person is a great and dangerous sin for us, which must be fought. It is terrible because we, of our own free will, join evil and become accomplices.
Condemning, we begin to judge people, and only the supreme judge has the right to do this. By blaming the seemingly wrong actions of others, we seem to be claiming the rights of God. But only he has the right to punish or pardon a person.
Ordinary people see only today's sin of the condemned, they do not know the circumstances that led the person to such an act. And only God knows all the nuances of his life. Only he knows thoughts and desires, all bad and pious deeds and their number.
And if people are judged, then they are dissatisfied with the decision of the Almighty? That's whythe sin of judgment is, first of all, terrible for the judge himself, for his soul.
Causes of vice
One of the causes of vice is pride. The proud are not able to impartially assess their 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 blinds his eyes, and a person no longer sees that he himself is more sinful before God than those condemned by him. By accusing a person, we seem to elevate ourselves in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, belittling the accused and elevating ourselves above him.
And also there is a lot of anger in people's lives, and this is especially dangerous, since the devil is always next to evil. He was the first who slandered God, condemned him, and then began to tempt people as well. Judgment is a demonic state that begins with a lack of love. We should not blame or even listen to the accusers, as this is also a sin. The right to condemn and judge belongs only to God. He alone has the power to pardon or punish.
Condemnation is a powerful devilish weapon that blocks our spiritual life, making it impossible to sincerely pray to God, plunging him into sinful passions.
Also, the causes of sinful censure are such human vices as vindictiveness, suspicion, vindictiveness, ridicule, gloating, complacency, slander.
God allows temptation to those who have the sin of judgment. When a person becomes proud or accuses his neighbor, temptation creeps into his soul, after passing through which a person mustlearn a lesson, feel true values and humility.
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 condemned while it is remembered. We often just don't understand why it is unacceptable to stigmatize when faced with violence, horrendous cruelty, and so on.
Christ gave us an example of kindness to people, which we should all strive for. He did not condemn the harlot, did not condemn the people who denied him food and shelter, did not condemn Judas and the robber, he treated them with pity, with love. Only the high priests, scribes and Pharisees Jesus called "serpents", "spawn of vipers." It was in their hands that the supreme power was, and it was they who arrogated to themselves the right to judge, pass sentences and put them into action…
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 the bar below which we ourselves should not slide. Therefore, condemnation has the right to act on the person himself. This is how the wonderful rule of spiritual life works: "By what judgment you judge, by such you will be judged." We all need to learn to separate the sinner from his ungodly deeds. We must love the sinners themselves and despise sin. After all, in every person there is a piece of God.
Attitude towards clergy
What is the sin of condemning a priest? We like to go to those churches where we like priests,which seem almost holy to us. But it happens that church ministers clearly have the same vices as we do, and then their sermons are perceived by us with bewilderment. If you yourself cannot cope with sin, how can you call us to get rid of the same?
Jesus Christ represented who would serve in the churches he was building. There are no absolutely saints among people, and therefore the priests will be just people, each with his own vice. But in any case, they perform actions permitted by God, and this does not depend so much on their personal qualities, and it does not matter which priest baptized. The power of baptism will be the same. It makes no difference which priest will pray for you, all grace is from God. Both the church and Orthodoxy itself do not depend on the clergy.
A particularly grave sin is the sin of condemning a priest. The clergy personify the church, respectively, the attitude towards them is transferred to religion. The condemnation of the priest is equated with the condemnation of the servant and helper of God, with whose hands he performs the sacraments. By blaming, a person expresses a negative attitude towards the church and towards the Lord. The condemnation of the representatives of the church speaks of distrust towards it. Such behavior deprives a person of grace, because they go to church not for the sake of the priest, but for the blessing that is entrusted to every minister.
We have no right to condemn anyone, much less a priest. He will be accountable to God himself. And the punishment for him will be much more serious compared to ordinary people. For every sin at the Last Judgment, it will be difficult for the clergy to justify themselves.
Equally with the clergy, the condemnation of the authorities is a grave sin. All people must obey the highest authorities, since a person receives the right to power only with God's permission.
The sin of condemnation and its payoff
Gradually affecting the subconscious of people, condemnation corrodes their souls, hindering our spiritual life, which entails bodily suffering. Therefore, diseases begin that medicine cannot cure. The disease, as it were, stops the further subconscious program of destruction. Not only society suffers from condemnation, but to a greater extent the Universe, since every person, whatever he may be, is a particle of God, the Universe, and we do not know why he is here, what vital tasks he performs. Hence the terrible illnesses associated with death and destroying our principles.
Some get themselves cancer, alcoholism and so on. Others have other punishments for their condemnation. So, in families that condemn carnal sins, lecherous children who use drugs may appear. And in a good and prosperous family, but who hates alcoholics, suddenly a drinking son appears.
From constant condemnation, hatred appears, and this is already like a painful mental illness that entails great suffering. It can destroy a person as a person, deprive him of work, destroy families and make countries at enmity. For example, when someone is constantly condemned in a family (wife, husband, children), then hatred appears, scandals begin, and such a family ceases to exist.
Of courseit is not God who punishes people for their sins, but they create these illnesses and unbearable everyday situations for themselves with their condemnation, unrighteous actions, malicious conversations, thereby violating the rules of the universe. Often you just need to change your views on the environment, and the disease is no longer needed, its necessity disappears.
How to deal with the sin of condemning the Orthodox
The easiest way to salvation is not to judge anyone. He is the hardest one for us. This sin, like a chronic disease, has taken root in life.
Spiritual people believe that this sin can be overcome. They advise turning to God more often with a request for help, because we may not have enough strength in the fight against the sin of condemnation, because this is a fight with ourselves. People almost without exception are "sick" with condemnation. You have to really want to and make every effort to fight it. You must constantly think about your sins, analyze your actions, approach your weaknesses very severely. We must pray with all our hearts more often for the condemned by us and for our soul.
A proven way to help you cope with your weaknesses is to replace them with good thoughts and deeds. You have to force yourself at first, and then it will be easier, and then it will be natural to love all people, treat them and your sins equally, with condescension and compassion. You need to understand how sinful you are, and then the need to think about someone else's sins will go away.
We must feel sorry for all people, and then there will be no place and time for censure. Indeed, by condemning, we ourselves fall into sin and lose the grace of God, and complete repentance does notonly in words, but also in deeds, can lift us to a new spiritual level.
What to do if we are condemned
We can be condemned, accused of something, sometimes by accident, so to speak, under a hot hand, and sometimes deliberately denigrated, which is especially insulting and insulting. Sometimes, out of indignation, a person is ready to rush at his offender with his fists, cry and curse him. So what to do? Reply with condemnation?
The holy fathers, who accepted it with humility, were also condemned. You can't repay evil with evil. Those who condemn themselves condemn themselves, leading their souls away from Christ. The Holy Fathers recommend accepting censure calmly, as another test in the fight against sins, and then the one who condemned you will be ashamed. After all, we are all children of God, and God is love.
Jesus Christ himself suffered the censure. He did not litigate, did not condemn, and did not make excuses. We must do without indignation and pray for those who condemn us.
We must remember one truth, that if no one condemns us, but we ourselves constantly sin, and our life is sinful, then we should not hope for the mercy of God. Conversely, if we live in godliness, no condemnation will harm us, and we will be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, we should not look at those who accuse us, but think about the righteousness of our lives and make efforts for this.
Conclusions
God always remembers people, always with us, listens attentively and sees us, and we must understand this for ourselves. He gave us his commandments and wants us to live according to his laws. Anya person can sin unintentionally, and everyone prays for forgiveness for himself, everyone trembles before the future Court of the Most High, and everyone wants loy alty and indulgence towards us.
Christ said that "by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned." Always remembering this, one must get rid of this sin and love all people, without exception, be merciful to them. Then perhaps our words will justify us before God.
