Dec 16, 2009
Hear With Your Eyes
I want to be a better people watcher! Does that sound weird? I guess it kind of does. But when there are other people around me, whether I know them or not, I tend to only look at them. I see that this person is scary looking or that one is pretty. I see one who has a crazy purple mohawk while another one is dressed in a nice suit. I look at them and then immediately make a judgment about that person. I just look at them. I don’t let my eyes hear the cry of their hearts. Being a better people watcher means, I think, hearing with your eyes. That’s a funny statement I know. But when you are no longer looking at someone but you rather at the reality of that person’s existence you will then hear the cry of their heart.
Alex Montoya, in his book Preaching with Passion, describes what he does when his heart has become callus and he no longer hears the cry of the people. He goes down to his favorite taco stand in East L.A., orders a cup of coffee, sits with his back against the wall, and then watches. As he sits there, he notices “[a] group of gang-bangers come in for a snack—one in four will die before the age of eighteen; two of the others will end up in prison. All are doomed to a hard life. A young mother comes in with her brood of youngsters. It is obvious that they are poor. They share drinks. They live in poverty; some will never see a forest or snow. An old drunk staggers in, begging for a meal. He is quickly thrown out. That was somebody’s baby boy. A mother at one time cradled that man and nursed him. The poor specimen of humanity has children. His wife is somewhere out there. They have long since disowned him, but they have not forgotten him. He is still somebody’s daddy. For all I know, he could have been my own. I look, I listen until I hear their cries, until their souls cry out to me, ‘Please help, I’m perishing!’”
As I look out my window, it is snowing rather hard. I cannot shovel the driveway because of my back and my dad can’t do it because of his shoulder. But I watch as our neighbor comes with his snow blower and gets rid of the snow for us. I think to myself - “that was really nice of him.” I am very appreciative that he would do that for us. As I watch him and others in this cul-de-sac, I begin to hear their cry – “Please help me. This isn’t enough. I need more good works to get into heaven.” It is the cry of one who does not know the grace of Christ. The next time you go to the store or the gas station, watch so that you may hear. Parents when you look at your unsaved children, don’t just look at them, but watch them until hear the cry of their souls. When we begin to hear this cry, then we will begin to pursue others with a holy vigor and proclaim life in Christ to a dying people.
I want to be a better people watcher.
By: Michael Emadi
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