Surviving or Thriving? (Part 2)

“Surviving or Thriving?” (Part 2)
by Don Emmitte

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. 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. Today, we will look at the second principle. Let’s go back to the story:

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52 ESV).

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. 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 by your friends if you don’t listen to them. I can tell you, 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.