Discomfort and Confrontation

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:29-31) 
 
Confrontation isn’t always easy to handle. It can be awkward. It can be tense. And it can be uncomfortable. But it is sometimes necessary, and it’s effective when done in a healthy manner.  
 
Within the story outlined in today’s key passage, there were two groups of people that these two men were willing to confront when asking Jesus for mercy. First, there were other blind people from their community, people whose social, economic, and spiritual condition was just like their own, who couldn’t see beyond their current limitation and believed the two men should just be content with receiving the spare change. Second, there was the crowd of onlookers who looked down on these two men and who became unsettled by these men’s attempt to improve the quality of their lives. 
 
Rather than yielding to the criticisms and ridicule of the crowd, they decided that they would not let the stares, opinions, and opposition of other people prevent them from crying out to Jesus and getting the help they needed. 
 
We would be wise to follow the example of these two men and be willing to face discomfort in order to get the help we’re looking for. The thoughts and opinions of others should never outweigh the thoughts and opinions of our Lord. We should always be more concerned with what the Lord thinks of our actions, our words, and our behaviors than we should with what others think. Only then will we experience true freedom and peace.