One of my favorite perks of my new-to-me car is that I get to take it to the dealership to get it washed whenever it needs it. The free car wash coupled with a waiting area that offers sodas, coffee, and sometimes ice cream makes for a two-fold treat. I like that I get to sit in the designated waiting area and enjoy my coffee/coke/ice cream while reading the novel I brought along in relative quiet, all while someone else does the work of making my car clean and shiny. However, the last two times I've gone for my little thirty minute oasis, my peaceful time has been interrupted by people who seem to be unaware that they are surrounded by, well, other people.
Last time, it was a woman discussing her personal business at full volume with someone on her cell phone. While trying to enjoy my vanilla ice cream and cinnamon cookie, I could not help but learn that she had recently lost a parent, and after that loss had discovered a heretofore unknown sibling. I, along with everyone else in the waiting area, learned of her discomfort with this new sibling and all the ways it was making settling the estate harder. The entire time I was there she held two different phone conversations on this subject. After such an experience, you can imagine my relief when, today, I walked into a quiet waiting room filled with people peacefully reading or playing with smartphones. However, a few minutes after taking my seat I was hit with the well-known voice of the movie preview voiceover guy describing an upcoming film. A few quiet seconds would pass before the voice would come back to describe another film. To my surprise, the source of the movie previews was an older gentleman's iPhone as he enjoyed the Movie Trailer app at full volume. On both occasions, these two individuals were oblivious to the silent glances thrown their way. They missed the body language of their fellow customers plainly telling of their discomfort. They were clueless to the comments quietly made as people hoped they would overhear and be more considerate. They just went on with what they were doing as if they were alone in the room.
These moments lead me to wonder, do they not realize that we can hear everything they can hear? Are they so focused on themselves that they are unaware of those around them and how their actions are impacting others? Then, it hit me. We all do this. Not necessarily the loud use of cell phones in public places, although many of us are guilty of that too, I'm sure. No, I'm talking about the ability to be so overly self involved with our own problems, needs, interests, or concerns that we are blind and deaf to those who surround us. How often do we go to work, school, the gym, playgroup, or wherever so focused on ourselves, that we miss the silent glances from someone needing our help, the body language of another who is hurting, or even the quiet comments that if we were tuned in we would recognize was someone wanting to be considered, noticed by us? The words that came to my mind as I was convicted of this bigger issue are from Philippians 2:3-4. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (NLT) However daunting my own problems or concerns may be at any moment, I am always supposed to be taking an interest in the needs of others. I believe God knew just how easy it is for us to be so into our own stuff that we can create an invisible bubble around ourselves and never look outside of it.
The fact of the matter is, we are constantly surrounded by others, others we impact. The question we must ask ourselves is, are we looking within and having a negative impact as we bombard them with our selfishness, or are we looking out and preparing to impact them for the kingdom of God?
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