I used to be good at people watching.
Now I never called it that because it was never a thing that people did intentionally.
Before smart phones, if you were going to get together with your friends or family, you would just set a time and a place and expect people to be there. If you got there before everyone else, you wouldn’t take your phone out and check Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, since that didn’t exist (I know, it is hard to remember that there was even such a time).
Instead, you just looked around.
If someone were doing something out of the ordinary, you would notice. If a mother were scolding her child for throwing a fit in public, you would look in that direction or slightly to the side, so as to not give the impression that you were eavesdropping. If a couple were on a date, you would try to guess where they were going, the status of their relationship, and if they were a good fit.
With the advent of smart phones and social media, you might have thought that people watching has turned into a lost art. Not so! People watching has merely moved from the physical sphere to the digital space.
It has become incredibly easy to watch what others are doing by creeping on their social media profiles. Let alone the fact that there are some apps that will tell you where someone is—moment by moment!
With the increasing digitization of people watching, there are many that are advocating that we go back to the ways-of-old.
Believe it or not, you can even download a nine-step guide to learn how to people watch.
Pathetic? Perhaps.
Fascinating? Most definitely.
There are even websites where you can submit conversations you overheard while people watching!
A couple years ago, my wife and I celebrated our tenth year anniversary by taking a trip to New York.
We’ve lived in big cities like this before, but for some reason, New York just seemed more congested than we last recollected. It was fascinating to meet and pass by the different kinds of people who called New York home.
When we were walking through China town in Queens, a Chinese lady with a scarf over her head scattered bowlfuls of seed on the ground—at which dozens of pigeons descended, just like children do when a piñata bursts open. My wife and I began asking one another questions like:
- “Why would she do that?”
- “I wonder if it’s because of her religion?”
- “Or, perhaps it’s good luck if a bird poops on her?”
Later on, when walking through Times Square during broad daylight, we noticed that there were several people in character costumes, like princesses and superheroes, wanting to have their picture taken with others for a few dollars. Our people watching continued with questions and comments like:
- “I wonder who is in those costumes?”
- “They must be sweating in there!”
- “I wonder how much they actually make in a day?”
One evening when it was raining lightly, we walked by the Port Authority bus terminal and noticed many Middle Eastern families with small children, European couples, homeless panhandlers, and teenagers eating pizza by the slice. You can guess the conversation that ensued as we continued walking toward the Broadway show that we had tickets for…
The fact is, no one is the same. And though we all have unique stories, we all share the same need—a need for the gospel.
Though everyone is loved by God, we don’t all live in light of this truth. Instead of putting our hope in the only one who will never let us down, and who gave up everything so that we would experience true life as he intended it and designed it, many of us put our hope and redemption in something else…in something less…
For some, it’s family values. For others, it’s work, wealth, or fame. And still for some it’s religion that’s all about doing, works, and self-righteousness.
In light of that, can you name one or two friends, neighbors, or co-workers who are far from God? What do they put their hope in? What do they see as their redemption and purpose in life?
What do you think would happen if you stopped people watching and instead began people engaging?
Creating margin in your life so that you can spend time with them? So that God can work in and through you?
To learn more, check out these two articles: