Faith in the heart is the true regulator
of that disposition, so widely prevalent, and oftentimes so unjust and
so dangerous, of judging the characters of our fellowmen. The judgment
of men’s conduct and characters, if it be a just and full judgment,
implies the additional fact of a judgment of their motives.
But if men are baffled in their inquiries into the nature of a tree or
plant, of a drop of water or a grain of sand, ought they not to distrust
their powers and to be slow in their decisions, in a matter so remote
from direct observation and involving so many elements, as the judgment
of human motives. If there be any one thing, which may properly be
described as God’s prerogative, it is that of judging the heart. The
man, who has faith in God, will not be hasty in passing a judgment upon
the characters of his fellow-men, because faith is the natural and only
effectual extinguisher of those various rivalships and jealousies, which
are the frequent and injurious sources of hasty judgment. Nor is this
all. He will not judge in this hasty manner also, because he feels that
God’s command, to which faith gives a practical import and power of
which it would otherwise be destitute, is binding upon him. “JUDGE NOT,
THAT YE BE NOT JUDGED; for, with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
— From The Life of Faith, Part 2, Chapter 10.
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