When man has great humility, acknowledges his fault, feels his guilt to a great extent and suffers, and labours over it, then Christ will indeed be lenient with him and forgive him. He will say, “My child, do not think of it any more, it is over.” However, if one doesn’t feel his guilt, but relaxes and takes it easy, thinking that Christ will judge him with leniency, then this is very dangerous. Do you think Christ will reward sinners?  The true recognition of our self will move God to provide us with divine help and heavenly joy. If we could be helped without this recognition, if it were not helpful and necessary, then God would not have asked it of us.

Yes, one may have a faulty awareness of the self, justifying himself, and thus lulling his conscience to sleep. That’s why, when I say that there is a recognition of our faults, I mean that there’s also a small effort to correct these faults. Let’s say I owe you five hundred thousand drachmas, and when I see you, I say, “Yes, yes, I do have a debt to pay back to you.” I’m not concerned with paying off the debt, I’m just acknowledging the fact…

– Spiritual Struggle