Sinful Judgment vs Righteous Judgment

A persistent problem for new Christians is judging others. We look at someone, either their appearance or behavior, and develop snap judgments—often negative—from years of doing so out of habit as a non-Christian. At the same time, shouldn’t we judge others around us to understand what is going on in the world to keep ourselves safe? How can we discern between sinful judgment and righteous judgment?

A concept you hear among the Orthodox is discernment, the ability to pick out the divine signal f...