Abba Pior on Not Judging Our Fellow Man
There was at that time a meeting at Scetis about a brother who had sinned. The Fathers spoke, but Abba Pior kept silence. Later, he got up and went out; he took a sack, filled it with sand and carried it on his shoulder. He put a little sand also into a small bag which he carried in front of him. When the Fathers asked him what this meant he said, “In this sack which contains much sand, are my sins which are many; I have put them behind me so as not to be troubled about them and so as not to weep (repent); and see here are the little sins of my brothers which are in front of me and I spend my time judging them. This is not right, I ought rather to carry my sins in front of me and concern myself with them, begging God to forgive me for them.” The Fathers stood up and said, “Truly this is the way of salvation.”
*Taken from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
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