Book Three, Chapter 4: Morality and Psychoanalysis

Two people can do the same thing for very different reasons, and two people can face very different battles to do the same right thing. Lewis takes this up in his chapter on morality and psychoanalysis. In his framing, both Christianity and psychology care about the inner person, but they have different jobs. He uses an illustration of two soldiers to help show the difference. Here is a way to think about it: psychology looks at the raw material we were handed, such as temperament, wiring and history. Morality is about what we do with that material, the choices we make. You did not pick the first. You do answer for the second.

That distinction has a surprising effect on how we see other people. If you only see someone's behavior, you cannot see what they started with. One person is naturally calm and finds patience easy. Another has a short fuse and a hard history and fights hard just to stay civil. From the outside, the calm person looks better. Only God sees who is actually doing more with what they were given. That is why Lewis argues it is unwise to judge others' moral actions.

Jesus says something close to this in Matthew 7. He begins with a short command: "Judge not, that you be not judged." He does not say to stop caring about right and wrong. He is warning about a particular habit, the one where we pronounce a verdict on someone else from a few outward facts. He adds that "with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." The standard we hand out comes back to us.

Then comes his picture: a speck in a brother's eye and a log in our own. It is funny on purpose. We are good at spotting small flaws in others and bad at noticing our own large ones. Jesus calls that hypocrisy. His remedy is not to ignore the speck forever. He says to deal with the log first, "and then you will see clearly." Clear sight starts at home.

So the practice is to hold your verdicts loosely. When someone's behavior bothers you, ask two questions. What might they be working against that I can't see? And where do I do something similar, perhaps in a quieter form?

This also frees you. You do not have to be your own judge by your temperament either. Where something in your inner life feels heavy, such as old pain, depression or patterns you cannot shake, a counselor or pastor can help. Looking after your inner life is wise, not weak. And holding verdicts loosely never means staying near someone who harms you. You can step back from danger without declaring a final judgment on their soul.