Every day we are faced with condemnation. It is as if a program has been laid in us to blame everyone and everything. We condemn people based on our own concepts, weaknesses and advantages, sometimes humiliating and insulting others. How to understand the sin of condemnation? It happens different for the same sin, especially when it concerns itself, the beloved. We can always justify ourselves and our beloved people. Yes, and their mistakes do not seem so serious, but the very same sins of others are simply degrading, dirty and unbearable. The meaning of the sin of condemnation is always a negative assessment of a person, his actions, accusation.
In many religions, condemnation is normal. People were not only reproached, but severely punished physically for their sins, up to the death penalty. We consider this natural: crime must be punished, and retribution must come upon the sinner. But in Orthodoxy, the sin of condemnation is considered grave.
In Orthodoxy
In the Gospel, condemnation is considered one of the gravest sins, which leads to the departure from Christ, the loss of love, and spiritual loss. Most people are not divided into two opposite camps, and in each of us there is evil and good in different proportions. Therefore, in our attitude to people, above all, there should be forgiveness, comprehensive 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 atrocities against himself, how can we condemn people for some sins, sometimes not at all concerning us personally?
The concept
To condemn is 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 partiality, seek 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 a heart emptiness, the loss of love, this is a very dangerous state of the human soul.
Sometimes we make fun of someone’s sins just for fun, and as a rule, this happens in the form of gossip without the presence of a convicted person. We do not think at all that tomorrow we will not only be objects of fun, but also have to face God's judgment. Then it is unlikely that we will be laughing, because to condemn is to judge. We all suffer from the censure of our neighbor, sometimes even not paying attention to our own words. But condemnation is a grave sin. “For you will be justified of your words, and you will condemn of your words,” it is said in the Gospel of Matthew.
Danger of sin
We literally condemn someone in every conversation, sometimes considering it to be our infallibility, education. By doing this, we simply destroy our souls, blocking the further growth of our spiritual life, withdraw our souls from Christ, and this is dangerous for ourselves. The condemnation of man is a great and dangerous sin for us to fight against. It is scary 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. Condemning the wrong, at first glance, the actions of others, we seem to claim 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, are they dissatisfied with the decision of the Almighty? Therefore, the sin of condemnation is, first of all, terrible for the condemning person, for his soul.
Causes of vice
One reason for vice is pride. The proud is not able to impartially evaluate his shortcomings. However, he notes that the rest, by his standards, do everything wrong, even eat and sleep, to say nothing of serious sins. Own pride covers our eyes, and a person no longer sees that he himself is more sinful before God than those who are condemned. Blaming a person, we seem to raise ourselves in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, belittling the accused and exalting ourselves above him.
And also in the life of people there is a lot of anger, and this is especially dangerous, since the devil is always next to evil. He was the first to slander God, condemn him, and then began to tempt people. Condemnation is a demonic state that begins with a lack of love. We should not blame or even listen to the accusers, since this is also a sin. The right to judge and judge belongs only to God. Only he has the power to pardon or punish.
Condemnation is a powerful diabolical weapon that blocks our spiritual life, making it impossible to sincerely pray to God, plunging it into sinful passions.
Other causes of sinful censure are human vices such as vindictiveness, suspicion, revenge, ridicule, gloating, complacency, slander.
God allows temptation to one in whom there is a sin of condemnation. When a person is proud or blames his neighbor, a temptation creeps into his soul, having passed through which a person should learn a lesson, feel the true values and humility.
Why can not a person be judged?
Good human deeds and deeds, as a rule, are not specified, and they are quickly forgotten. But everything bad is remembered for a very long time and is condemned, as long as I remember. Often we simply don’t realize why it is unacceptable to stigmatize when faced with violence, terrifying cruelty, and so on.
Christ gave us an example of a good attitude towards people, which we should all strive for. He did not condemn the libertine, did not condemn the people who refused him food and shelter, did not condemn Judas and the robber, he treated them with pity, with love. Only Jesus called the high priests, scribes and Pharisees "serpents", "offspring of vipers." It was in their hands the highest power, and it was they who appropriated the right to judge, pronounce sentences and bring them into action ...
Any condemnation is a great sin in Christianity. In all people, God laid a craving for all that is good, for good. And when we condemn someone’s actions, we set the bar below which we should not slide ourselves. 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, you will be so judged." We all need to learn to separate the sinner from his unrighteous deeds. We must love the sinned people themselves and despise sin. Indeed, in any person there is a piece of God.
Relation to the clergy
What sin is condemnation of a priest? We love going to churches where we like priests who seem almost holy to us. But it happens that the ministers of the church obviously have the same vices as we do, and then we perceive their preaching with bewilderment. If you yourself cannot cope with sin, how can you call us to get rid of the same?
Jesus Christ imagined who would serve in the churches he created. There are no completely saints among people, and therefore priests will be just people, each with his own vice. But in any case, they perform actions permitted by God, and this does not so much depend on their personal qualities, and there is no difference which priest baptized. The strength of baptism will be the same. It makes no difference which priest will pray for you, all grace from God. Both the church and Orthodoxy itself are independent of the clergy.
A particularly grave sin is the condemnation of a priest. The clergy personify the church, respectively, the attitude towards them is transferred to religion. The condemnation of a priest is equal to the condemnation of a servant and helper of God, with whose hands he performs the sacraments. Blaming, a person expresses a negative attitude towards the church and the Lord. The condemnation of representatives of the church speaks of distrust of her. Such behavior deprives a person of grace, because not for the priest they go to church, but for the blessing that is entrusted to each minister.
We have no right to condemn anyone, much less a priest. He will be accountable to God himself. And his punishment will be much more serious in comparison with ordinary people. It will be difficult for the clergy to make excuses for every sin at the Last Judgment.
Equally with the clergy, condemning the authorities is a grave sin. All people must obey the higher authorities, since a person receives the right to power only with God's permission.
Sin of judgment and payment for it
Gradually influencing the subconscious of people, condemnation eats away their souls, obstructing our spiritual life, which entails bodily suffering. Therefore, diseases begin that medicine cannot cure. The disease stops the further subconscious destruction program. Not only society suffers from condemnation, but also the Universe to a greater degree, since every person, whatever he is, is a particle of God, the Universe, and we don’t know what he is for, what life tasks he performs. Hence the terrible ailments associated with death and destroying our principles.
Oncological diseases themselves, alcoholism and so on receive some. Others have different penalties for their conviction. So, in families condemning carnal sins, child-molesters who use drugs may appear. And in a good and prosperous family, but hating alcoholics, a drinking son suddenly 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, lose his job, destroy his family and force hostility to the country. For example, when a family is constantly condemning someone (wife, husband, children), hatred appears, scandals begin, and such a family ceases to exist.
Naturally, it is not God who punishes people for their sins, but they create these diseases and unbearable everyday situations for themselves by their condemnation, unrighteous actions, and vicious conversations, which violate the rules of the universe. Often you just need to change your views on the environment, and the disease is no longer needed, its need disappears.
How to deal with the sin of condemnation Orthodox
The easiest way to salvation is to not blame anyone. He is the hardest thing for us. This sin, like a chronic disease, has taken root in life.
Spiritual people believe that this sin can be overcome. They advise more often to turn to God with a request for help, because we may not have enough strength in the fight against the sin of judgment, because this is a struggle with ourselves. People are almost completely "sick" with condemnation. We must really want and make every effort to fight it. We must constantly think about our sins, analyze our actions, approach our weaknesses very severely. We must pray with all our hearts more often for the condemned by us and for our soul.
A proven way and helping to cope with their weaknesses is to replace them with good thoughts and deeds. It is necessary to force yourself at first, and then it will be easier, and then it will be natural to love all people, treat them and their sins in the same way, with condescension and compassion. We need to understand how sinful it is, and then the need to think about someone's sins will go away.
It is necessary to pity all people, and then there will be no place and time for censure. Indeed, in condemning, we ourselves fall into sin and lose the grace of God, and complete repentance, not only in words but also in deeds, can raise us to a new spiritual level.
What to do if they condemn us
They may condemn us, accuse us of something, sometimes by chance, so to speak, they come under a hot hand, and sometimes they deliberately denigrate us, which is especially insulting and insulting. Sometimes, outraged, a person is ready to rush at his offender with his fists, cry and curse him. So what to do? Reply with judgment?
The holy fathers, who accepted it with humility, were also condemned. You cannot respond to evil with evil. Those who condemn themselves condemn themselves, leading their soul away from Christ. The Holy Fathers recommend accepting censure calmly, as another test in the fight against sins, and then it will be ashamed for those who condemn you. After all, we are all children of God, and God is love.
Jesus Christ himself suffered from censure. He did not engage in proceedings, did not condemn, and did not make excuses. We must do without indignation and pray for those who reproach 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 God's mercy. Conversely, if we live in godliness, no conviction will harm us, and we will be worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, it is not necessary to look at those who blame us, but to think about the righteousness of our lives and make efforts to do so.
findings
God always remembers people, always with us, listens attentively and sees us, and we must understand this for ourselves. He has given us his commandments and wants us to live according to his laws. Any person can sin by accident, and everyone prays forgiveness for himself, everyone trembles before the future Supreme Court, and everyone wants loyalty and condescension to us.
Christ said that "from your words you will be justified, and from your words condemn." Always remembering this, we must eliminate this sin from ourselves and love all people, without exception, to be merciful to them. Then, perhaps, our words will justify us before God.