People Watching

Have you ever heard someone talk about how they loved to people watch?  Well I am one of those people also.  I love to sit and watch people.  Sometimes it can be very entertaining to say the least.  I have seen people in a variety of settings ranging from malls to amusement parks and sporting events to concerts.  There have also been the opportunities to watch people in a variety of settings at worship events and churches.  There are times when you see some of the most unusual things take place.  Probably the funniest is when people are not paying attention to where they are going and stumble.  Of course, the first reaction of the individual which stumbled is to regroup and look to see if anyone was watching.  If they find that someone was watching then there is a tendency to begin to think how I can look as if that didn’t happen or I meant to do that! 

I remember when I was a student at Samford many years ago we were sitting in the school’s cafeteria.  On the far side of the room was a side door which was clearly labeled “do not exit, alarm will sound.”  As we sat there eating and talking someone noticed one of the freshmen girls heading to the aforementioned door.  All attention was on this young lady as she approached the door and pushed the bar to exit.  As you can imagine the alarm sounded and the young lady was quite embarrassed by her actions.  While there were some who were sympathetic to this young lady’s mistake many others in the room began to applaud and laugh.  Unfortunately for the young lady she chose to return the way she came rather than go ahead and exit the door. 

There are times when others around us do things which are humorous and then there are times when people are annoying.  Recently, I asked for a response on one of the social media outlets for answers to what is annoying about other people.  There were responses such as:  selfishness, fake people, overpowering people who demand their way is always right, judgmental people (especially within the church), rudeness, adults with lack of respect for one another, hypocrites, inconsistency, arrogance, slackers, and those who complain about situations but won’t do anything to help rectify the situation. 

But the one which caught my attention the most is those with a sense of entitlement.  While this attitude can take on a variety of meanings the one which most would correlate here is that of expecting that one deserves something.  I often hear people complain that the world is filled with individuals who have the mindset that they are owed something by the government, other people, the church, and even God.  At what point do we come to where we are owed something by someone else?  Is there a standard by which we can determine such a status of entitlement?  All valid questions, but the scripture does not teach such a demeanor.  In fact, Jesus taught us to care for the needs of others ahead of our own.  Paul encouraged us to bear the burdens of one another.  Should we insist on entitlement when the example of Jesus was to lay down His life for others?

In closing let me bring up one other thought.  When we see these attitudes and actions in others which irritate us do we stop to wonder what we might do which robs the joy of someone else?  It is easy to see the faults of others, but do we stop to contemplate that we too might have a fault?  Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye; but don’t notice the log in your own eye?” He continued by saying we would be wise to remove the log from our own eye in order to help our brothers with anything which might be in their own.  Let’s see what could be detrimental for the kingdom of God in our lives and remove it so as not to cause any hindrance for others coming to Christ!

Seeking His Way,

Pastor Ric