Respect is something that is lacking in our society today. We see it from the highest position in our country, and it trickles down from there. That’s why it’s important for the church to maintain integrity and not allow society to influence how we function. However, there is a situation that occurred in Matthew 20:29-34 where value and respect were absent. There were 2 blind men sitting on the side of the road, and when they heard Jesus passing by they cried out to Him for help. The crowd was telling them to be quiet, but they got louder. Then Jesus stood still, called then, and after talking with them, He open their eyes so they could see.
What is troubling about this situation is how nobody was interested in wanting to help these men get to Jesus. When they cried out to Jesus for help, the crowd wanted to dismiss them. The issues are value and respect, the crowd was not sensitive to the needs of the blind men. They were not interested in seeing these men being healed by Jesus. The reality of the situation is, they did not see them as their equals. Therefore, when they cried out it was a nuisance to everybody. Do we experience this in our churches today?
Someone comes to church and begins to praise the Lord, and others look at them as though they are a nuisance. Why do they have to be so loud? You don’t know what they are going through, or what the Lord has brought them through. We will make a gesture or a comment that we want them to see or hear, to make them be quiet. This is truly an act of disrespect, and may cause this person to leave your house of worship and never return. They will make y’all happy by not returning, but how does Jesus feel about it? I know He will be disappointed in those that do this, because they don’t see the value in the person. If I don’t value you, then I don’t have an issue with disrespecting you. Imagine if Jesus did not value us where would we be? That’s why it’s important for us to value and respect everybody.
The beauty of this story is, the blind men would not stop crying out to Jesus, and got louder when the crowd told them to be quiet. Why, because they valued and respected the ability of Jesus being able to make a life change for them. The same has to be true for you, don’t let anybody silence you, or stop you from getting to Jesus. Stand your ground, because you know He is the only one that can make a life change for you. Thank you Jesus!
