Who Are You To Judge?

Who are any of us to tell any of us who is going to hell, and who is going to heaven? The judgement is the same; for if one says, "Because of your sin, you are going to hell!", the response will be rightly be, "Who are you to judge that?'. Yet, if that same person turns to another and says, "Despite your sins you are going to heaven!", the response would rightly be, "Who are you to judge that?" For, by telling the sinner he is going to hell, we are interfering with his unknown spiritual progress and stating as fact what we cannot know for certain. And if we tell another sinner he is going to heaven, we may be casting him to hell through false security, for we all sin. None of us is The Judge, but One far above us is the most just Judge. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:1-2).

We must not let this lack of authority convince us of the false piety of all-acceptance, but we must consciously and cautiously discern all things. For this is the assessment of sin and virtue, by which we either fall or rise, and it is a necessary preclusion to all conscious activity. So, we discern but do not judge. Go your way, and teach to those who have ears, but "do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6). Do not listen to the scandal, for narrow is the way. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). Endure the daggers and the misunderstandings, the covetous hands that pull you this way and that, splitting your will from itself and splitting your body from itself. Suffer a little, struggle a little. As all physical exercise suffers the body before its transformation, so your soul needs to likewise suffer. Let your soul reign over your body, so that as one consistent being you too can build your way in love, loving even those who scorn, knowing the awfulness of suffering, knowing the challenge of struggle, and knowing the beautiful motivation of a peaceful passerby.