"Surviving or Thriving?" (Part 2)

Yesterday we began looking at the practical principles found in the story of blind Bartemaeus’ healing in order to determine how we might do more than merely survive in life. God wants us to thrive! The first of these was that we must learn to makes the most of the opportunities God provides for us. Today, we will look at the second principle. If we are to genuinely thrive in the midst of every circumstance in life, we must learn to minimize the negative voices that clatter around us. Let’s go back to the story:

And so they reached Jericho. Later, as Jesus and his disciples left town, a great crowd was following. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" "Be quiet!" some of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, "Tell him to come here." So they called the blind man. "Cheer up," they said. "Come on, he's calling you!" Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked. "Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!" And Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road. (Mark 10:46-52 NLV).

Now, notice the crowd’s reaction when Bartimaeus cried out for help. Mark said, "Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet." The crowd had Bartimaeus stereotyped. In their eyes, he would never be anything more than a blind beggar. In their eyes, he would never be anything but poor and wretched. The crowd thought that their question was fair: Why would this Rabbi want to waste His time with such an outcast? We do the same thing today, we judge people by what we see on the outside. Bartimaeus was judged because he was blind, poor, and did not seem to fit into society. He was talked about, rejected, and put down because he was not like the others. However, I appreciate Bartimaeus’ reaction. He persisted. He would not give up. Mark said, "He shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me." Bartimaeus was not going to let a bunch of negative, critical, heckling bystanders rob him of his dream of sight.

Robert Fulton invented the steamboat. When he first presented his new invention, he had plenty of critics crowded on the riverbank. The critics yelled, "It’ll never start, it’ll never start." Fulton proved them wrong. After a lot of clanking and groaning, the steamboat started up and moved down the river. The critics were quiet momentarily. Then they rallied together and started yelling, "It’ll never stop, it’ll never stop."

We must never try to please those who would criticize us. Why? Simple. We will never be able to do so. You are going to be criticized. It is so difficult not to listen to that criticism. As you are criticized, as you face the negative crowd, follow the example of Bartimaeus and Robert Fulton. Use it. Grow from it. Move forward despite it. Don’t let it hold you back. Seize the opportunities placed before you by God. Don’t be limited by the negative criticism of others.