Judge not, but keep praying

     It was a wet, wind-lashed morning when Jane first noticed him—a tall, stooped man standing at the bus stop, clutching a battered black umbrella that had lost half its spokes. The fabric flapped uselessly in the wind, and yet he held it over his head as if it were a shield of gold.

Jane, warm under her sturdy raincoat, felt a flicker of irritation. Why doesn’t he just buy a new one? she thought. Some people have no pride. She turned away, pretending to check her phone, but her eyes kept drifting back to him. His shoes were scuffed, his coat frayed at the cuffs. He looked like a man who had given up.

When the bus arrived, she made sure to sit far from him. But as the bus jolted forward, the driver braked suddenly, and the man stumbled. His umbrella slipped from his grasp, rolling down the aisle. Jane picked it up reluctantly, holding it out to him.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice warm despite the cold. “It’s not much to look at, I know. But it was my wife’s. She used it every rainy day for twenty years. I… I can’t bring myself to let it go.”

Jane’s throat tightened. She saw the umbrella differently now—not as a ragged scrap of fabric, but as a thread tying him to someone he had loved deeply. The frayed edges were not signs of neglect, but of devotion.

She realized how quickly she had judged him, and how wrong she had been.

How easy it is to be unfairly critical or harshly critical of another human being. Jesus knew that we human beings can have this tendency to wrongly judge others. That we can be quick to notice other people’s flaws and condemn them for these flaws, without really knowing the person or knowing the back story or the circumstances. 

The idiom has a lot of truth in it: “Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then, you’ll understand why they walk the way they do.’ Walking in another’s shoes would give us more sympathy for them.

And alongside this tendency to jump to negative judgement about people is that we are more harsh in our criticism of others than we are in our criticism of ourselves. When someone else makes a mistake, we blame them, when we mistake a mistake we blame our circumstances. Spilled coffee on your shirt? Clearly it was the barista who was careless. You spill coffee on someone else? Well that table was wobbling, and you were in a rush. 

We are quick to let yourselves off, but slow to let other people off.

Jesus knew all this about we human beings, so he gave one of his most famous commands as a corrective:

‘Do not judge or you too will be judged.’ And then he followed it up with the reason why we shouldn’t judge. ‘For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’

Now Jesus is not saying that we shouldn’t make value judgements about other human beings. If he was saying that, we couldn’t have law courts. We couldn’t have judges and juries sitting in judgement. We couldn’t have police. Parents couldn’t correct their children, school exams couldn’t happen. Management couldn’t operate in companies. We have to use our critical faculties. Life involves making value judgements including about other people.

But what Jesus is saying is that we shouldn’t be harsh or unsympathetic in our judgements. We shouldn’t be unduly critical in our judgements. We shouldn’t always be fault finding in others, looking for their weaknesses.

One of the most frightening things that Jesus ever said is right here: that with the measure you judge, you shall be judged. In other words on the Day of Judgement, when we stand before our Creator, all He has to do is play back a recording of the faults we have found in other people, and said so, then to examine our lives with what we have criticised others. Can any of us stand before God if that is how he is going to judge? For we know we have condemned in others, what there is in our own heart. 

If we are hard in our assessment of others, God will be hard in his assessment of us. If we are always finding fault with others, God will respond and be careful to find fault with us. With the measure you or I use in criticising others, God will use the same measure in criticising you or I. That’s what Jesus is saying.

Jesus said ‘blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy’ from God. Jesus said ‘if you forgive other people, God will forgive you’. God often deals with us in the way we deal with other people. If we want God to deal with us generously, well be generous in your judgement of other people, don’t always look for faults and criticise. 

You know we don’t often have the information we need to make a critical judgement about someone or some situation. We only know in part. That’s another reason why we should be slow to throw stones or critically judge others.

The person who has been blessed to be born with a calm and placid personality doesn’t know what it is like to be a person whose personality is full of nervous emotion, easily triggered. The person brought up in a loving Christian home knows nothing of the temptation of the person brought up by parents who are heroine addicts and who were neglectful. The fact is that if we realised what some people have to go through, far from condemning them, we would be amazed that they have succeeded in being as good as they are.  

I have been dipping into Loren Cunningham’s book on faith and finances again this week. And he mentions this story; Some friends of his had been working for YWAM (the missionary organisation) for 20 years. They had owned a succession of used vehicles, most with high maintenances costs, dubious reliability, bad gas mileage and low trade in values. One vehicle they’ll never forget was a big old estate car a ‘Harvester Travelall’, which got only 10 miles per gallon and was constantly breaking down. 

Then they happened upon a good deal on a used car. Although it was seven years old, it was in excellent condition, got 28 miles per gallon, was reliable, economical on repairs and cost a lot less than a new economy sized American car. It was a Mercedes Benz. Cunningham’s friends bought it, convinced that this was an excellent way to be good stewards of the Lord’s money. 

Then they started hearing comments about their Mercedes. One person used the word ‘opulence’, while another asked ‘How can a missionary afford a car like that?’ One even said ‘How can they drive that kind of car when there are people starving in the world?’

If only they could hang a sign on the side of the car, listing its cost, how few repairs it required and how much it saved on fuel every week. Maybe they could even write on its side ‘This car is saving the Lord money.’ But they couldn’t. They prayed and decided they didn’t want to be a stumbling block to anyone. The Mercedes had to go. 

They traded it in and bought a minivan. Which actually cost more to buy than the used Mercedes. The minivan ended up costing more to upkeep as well, and it depreciated faster. But no one complains about their wasting the Lord’s money anymore.

How easy it is to criticise someone without knowing the facts. Jesus words in John’s Gospel comes to mind- ‘Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.’ John 7:24 

Again an old proverb which you probably have heard- ’ You can’t judge a book by its cover’ is true. But we judge superficially and without knowledge all the time.

Now another funny things about we human beings. Many of our own failings, about which we are not at all concerned, even if we are even aware of them, are often glaringly obvious to others. We are often blind to our own faults which others notice quickly.

Jesus gave a parable that shows this. No one can criticise Jesus for lacking humour, this is a funny picture he paints.  

“And why worry about a speck in your brother’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your brother ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your brother’s eye.

You know we might see a little character problem someone else has and we might think we are helping that person by pointing out their problem. But, even if we mean well, there is no way we should be trying to correct him, until we have had a good look at ourselves and made sure that we are not guilty of something worse. It would be totally inconsistent to do that. Double standards. 

And actually often we can’t help our brother until we take the log out of our own eye, because only then do we have clear moral vision and the ability to help. 

Notice Jesus is talking about correcting a brother- he means Christian brothers and sisters. He is talking about the relations within a church. Criticism works this way. You will always criticise those who are nearest to you. You think through who, if anyone, you have criticised this past week? Were they people in South America or people close to you? If we are not careful, we become critical of fellow members of our church without even realising it, because it is not your enemies you criticise most, it is your friends.  

But again, Jesus is not forbidding all forms of judgment but He is cautioning against hypocritical, harsh and unfair judgment. In churches we do need to exercise judgement. Later in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that if someone sins against one of you, then you should go privately to that person and show them their wrong doing, in the hope that they will repent. And if they do great, if not go again to him with one or two others and again show him his fault. Finally if he won’t repent, bring his sin before the whole church and let the church take action against him. 

That’s judgement, but the right kind of judgement, necessary judgement.

Jesus tells us that we must make right assessments of people in his next saying in the Sermon on the Mount- he says- don’t cast what is holy before dogs, or throw pearls before pigs. If you do they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

There is a need to judge so as not give dogs what is sacred, pearls before swine. For example in sharing the gospel to a friend or work colleague, you need to discriminate, or judge is this person able to receive the holy words, the bit of God’s truth, that I would like to give him? 

Martin Goldsmith, an English evangelist, tells how he was trying to share the gospel to some Muslims, when a crowd of young Muslims surrounded him and started throwing stones at him. Fortunately he survived with just a mass of bruises. But this experience showed him the danger of casting his pearls or gospel truth before people who weren’t in the place to receive it. They didn’t appreciate the gospel message he was giving them and in a sense trampled on it and then attacked him. 

So that is why Goldsmith changed his strategy of sharing the gospel to Muslims in Malaysia and other places. He started using stories, everyone likes a story, but in the stories he shared, there was aspects of the gospel and the teaching of Jesus. When some people showed interest and asked questions, he could take them further. 

That is the method Jesus used in teaching. He taught using parables, little stories with a meaning that was often hidden. This means that people who were not in the right place spiritually would not be offended by his message, they wouldn’t trample it under foot, but those who were open to his teaching, could approach him, like his disciples did and ask him about it. Some people heard an interesting story and that was as far as they got. But other people heard the story and got the meaning, the message. Jesus hid the pearls of wisdom within his teaching, teaching in such a way as the pigs wouldn’t trample them underfoot and turn and attack him. 

When sharing the gospel, we need to be wise. Some people are hardened and their door is firmly closed. Best to let them be and maybe pray and move on, don’t waste time and effort, throw pearls to those who don’t appreciate them. Time and prayer and the silent witness of a good Christian life, can maybe soften their heart. 

And let us not underestimate the power of prayer. Of prayer that is persistent and is ongoing. There are situations which seem hard to change, but which will be changed because we persisted in praying to God.

Jesus told his disciples, ‘Ask and it will be given to you, seek and it will be found, knock and the door will be opened.’ Jesus is talking about praying- seeking and knocking are common Jewish metaphors for prayer and obviously asking means asking in prayer.  

Prayer to God is asking. People wonder, if God knows what we need, why must we pray? Well because God wants to operate out of relationship with us and prayer builds that relationship of trust and communication that God is looking for. We can have confidence in our asking – because the God we are asking things from is our Father, and much better, kinder and more generous than even our earthly fathers. Dads are, or most of them at least are, generous to their children and give gifts to their children when they ask them for gifts. Our Heavenly Father will do the same and much more.

But we must persist in prayer. Persistent prayer is often needed, persistence shows God we are serious and that we really believe he will answer. And Jesus is teaching us, it will be rewarded.

One of the greatest examples of someone who knew the power and importance of persisting in prayer, was a man called George Muller. Muller ended up running a huge orphanage in the city of Bristol and he never asked for any money from anyone to do so, he simply trusted God and prayed and God provided all the money to build the orphanages and to provide each day for their operation. God kept on prompting people to donate money. 

Last week we were thinking about God’s provision for our needs. If you want to read about someone who took Jesus at his word about providing for our needs and what is possible. Search on the internet the name George Muller- what a testimony of answer to prayer he had.

He knew God would provide for the children in his orphanage and God did time and time again. It is really stretches my faith to read the testimonies from his life, but I know them to be true.

Here is an episode that happened in the orphanage one morning. He housemother of the orphanage informed George- “The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat.” George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.” Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children."

But George Muller also knew that many prayers don’t get answered immediately. They take time and must be persisted in, to be answered.



In November, 1844, Muller began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. 

This is what he says about how he prayed: He said – ‘I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land or on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be.

Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others.

Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three.

Day by day I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three and went on praying for the other two.

These two remained unconverted.

He wrote- "I have been given tens of thousands of answers to prayer in the same hour or day in which they were offered but have been praying day by day for nearly 36 years for the conversion of these individuals, and yet they remain unconverted. But I hope in God, I pray on, and look yet for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be."

Muller died in 1898 and those two men, sons of a friend of Mr. Muller’s youth, still hadn’t converted, after he had prayed to God on their behalf each day for 52 years. But after his death God brought them both into the kingdom and they became Christians. 

God answered his prayers for all five of his friends. 

Some of us have friends and family members who we have been praying for to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. They haven’t yet been. Don’t stop praying. Don’t underestimate the power of your prayers for them, you have a good Father who answers when we don’t give up asking. Jesus wants us to keep going, don’t stop the prayers.

I have a friend whose mother was a strong Christian and her father was not. He wasn’t in the kingdom, he was a bit of a tyrant apparently. But she and her mother was praying. Actually she says half of Northern Ireland was praying for his conversion. He lived to the age of 99 and converted to Christ in his last years. God brought him in.

We have a generous God who generously gives, and who asks us to be generous in our thoughts and attitudes and words towards others. To be as good to others as we would want them be to us. It’s the ‘Golden Rule’. Lets aim for it. Amen 

Well we are going to sing a song that says ‘walk in the light’ . Walking is a metaphor for living and Jesus is the Light of the World. So walking in the light means live following Jesus, live in the light of his teaching, live following his example, live receiving his grace. Walk in the light. It’s the Holy Spirit who allows us to do it – living in the light of Jesus, free from judging and full of faith filled prayers.