“Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]” (Mark 10:46) [AMP]
According to Google dictionary “custom is a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place or time”.
Looking at a guy in the bible called Bartimeaus, who heard about Jesus on His way from Jericho and shouted out to Him. What struck me in this story was that Bartimeaus was a blind man and also a beggar and it was his custom to sit by the roadside begging for money. So according to the definition I first gave, it means it is a widely accepted way of behaviour or doing something, which means Bartimeaus sitting by the road has become his custom and the society has accepted him for that.
No wonder when he was about to change his custom by shouting out to Jesus, people tried to stop him and put him in his place of sitting, by the roadside and begging. I believe the people thought he was shouting for money.
But they were wrong, he wasn’t shouting for money as it was his custom. He was about to change his custom and shouted the more to Jesus, and got Jesus’s attention when he cried out “my custom must change”. Jesus asked him what he wanted; money or change of custom, and he shouted “change of custom”, because his custom was to sit by the roadside and beg. At that point, he wanted to be able to see and to walk and he got exactly what he wanted. His custom changed, and got a new custom of walking with Jesus on the road than to sit on the road and be a beggar.
This custom-change lifted him up from sitting on the road-side begging, and then he began to walk with Jesus. Isn’t it better walking with Jesus than to sit and beg?
Think about it! What custom do you need to change? What are the things that don’t really look nice but the world just needs to tolerate you and make it a custom for your sake? When you are meant to be celebrated, you are being tolerated. It’s time to change the custom of procrastination, depression, anxiety, loneliness, unhappiness and many other customs that need to change. Whatever it may be, its high time you changed your custom.
