I subscribed to a YouTube channel in 2019 called Yes Theory. Their motto, “Seek Discomfort,” led them to make videos titled “Abandoned in Paris with no money for 24 hours” and “We took our taxi driver to his dream destination.” Along the way, they are intentional about stepping outside their comfort zone to try new things and meet new people — listening to their stories and stumbling upon great adventures.

What this highlights for me is our tendency to seek comfort — sometimes because it is easy or because we are scared. However, we are missing out on so much of life if we remain within the confines of our comfort.

One way I see this in Mennonite circles is our tendency to avoid confrontation. We sometimes use the illustration of Jesus’ “third way” as a path of conflict avoidance more than we recognize or care to admit.

Does Jesus ever take the third way? Yes! Jesus takes the third way of radical love and nonviolence. But we also see him being confrontational and causing good trouble. He flipped tables over in the temple because people were using the name of God to exploit people for money. He declared “ ‘It is written … my house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’ ” (Matthew 21:13 NIV). I quite frankly do not know how he could have been more confrontational.

As we follow Jesus’ way of radical love and nonviolence, it must be accompanied by action. We must be confrontational — step out of our comfort zone and seek radical love that stands with the oppressed and marginalized.

When Jesus called to his disciples from their fishing boats, the Gospel of Matthew says they left immediately. They left comfort and familiarity and put their faith in Jesus to become fishers of men.

It’s important to note that comfort is often a privilege. There are so many people around the world who are living in discomfort because they don’t have any other option. We are able to remain as comfortable as we are because we have privilege.

At this moment, people in Gaza are starving — they are experiencing a genocide funded by U.S. taxpayer money. At this moment your neighbour lives in constant worry she will be separated from her family without due process as they build a new ICE detention center down the road. At this moment millions of people across the U.S. are losing their basic human rights.

If you are still comfortable ask yourself: Why are you so comfortable? If you are comfortable, you are probably complicit in this ongoing oppression. If you are not intentionally living out nonviolence and radical love, you are complicit in forcing others to live in discomfort.

Jesus is calling you from your fishing boat to join him in nonviolent radical love. You are being called out of your comfort zone to meet your neighbour in the discomfort. Accompany your love with action. Find that good trouble! What are you doing to seek discomfort?