Have you ever been to a church where people walk right by you without making any kind of eye contact or acknowledgement of your presence? How are we going to enjoy fellowship with one another or meet needs if we aren’t even noticing people?
If we don’t see that furrowed brow, we may not know to ask if we can pray with them about the stress or anxiety they’re experiencing. When we don’t notice their clenched fist or tight jaw line, we probably won’t address anger eating away at them. If we don’t look at their slumped posture or glossy eyes, we may not realize their need for us to extend comfort or encouragement.
People won’t always come to us. They often won’t tell us their needs. But, a few observations give us a starting place for reaching out.
Scriptural Examples of Noticing People
As Jesus walked this earth, He would see, or notice, the people around Him and their needs and feel compassion which moved Him to action (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32). — “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matt. 14:14)
The Apostle Paul, in proclaiming Jesus to the people of Athens, observed their way of life and used it to illustrate their need for Jesus. — “I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:22-23)
Why Noticing Matters
Noticing people and what’s going on in their lives can do the following:
- gives us a starting point — sometimes one of the hardest parts of witnessing or meeting needs
- helps us break down barriers, even bridge cultural divides
- gets people’s attention
- gives people a sense that we care
What Noticing Requires of Us
Truly noticing others requires that we look outside of our own little world and see what’s happening around us.
Sometimes that doesn’t come easy or naturally due to personality or issues in our own lives. We may need to make a purposeful effort to be more observant so we at least try.
Sometimes we’re too biased to see accurately. We may need to let go of our pride or insecurities so we can see clearly.
Sometimes we’re more consumed with what we need or want from people that we give little heed to what they might need or want. We may need to learn what it means to love others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39) so we even care about noticing people.
Sometimes we’re just too busy to look attentively. We may need to slow down some so we can be more mindful of the world around us.
If we want to touch people’s lives, we’ve got to begin by noticing them. What to do next may be obvious based on what we’ve noticed but we might need to learn more. Consequently, our next step may be listening to them. We must then ask if we not only notice people but also if we listen to them. Go to: Listening Skills