People-watching can be an amusing pastime because so many styles are in vogue today. In fact, while sitting on a bench in a large city, you can literally watch a fashion show of current styles parade past. You might see a group of Goth teens dressed in black with multicolored hair walking beside an ultra stylish woman with her designer jeans, handbag, and stiletto heels. Perhaps you will spot a pack of young men with low-slung pants bantering with multi-pierced teens sporting Mohawks, as a small cluster of men and women in business suits slide cautiously past them. A group of immodestly dressed girls can be seen giggling behind women covered by scarves and saris. Sometimes you can spot someone in pajama pants or paint clothes, who thought he or she could walk around unnoticed.

If you have ever stopped to really look at the different people who walk by you each day, you realize that you can learn some things from people-watching. You can learn what choices people make in clothing styles, hairstyles, and maybe even their personal hygiene habits. But one thing you will never be able to discern by watching people is their hearts. Certainly some people wear radical clothing and styles to express rebellion, but others do it to seek love, identity, or meaning. It might be hard to detect that well-dressed businesspeople are sometimes dealing with the same core issues of identity and acceptance that punk rockers are. It is impossible to tell by externals if God has been speaking to their hearts or if they remain rebellious and hard-hearted. Sometimes the most unlikely person is the one seeking God, yet it is easy for Christians to miss opportunities to minister because of prejudices based on externals.

Luke 7 records the account of a people watcher named Simon. He was a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to his house to eat, probably smugly believing that he was worthy of this honor because of his religious superiority. Imagine how incensed he must have felt when he saw a sinful woman burst in on the scene. Without asking permission and basically ignoring him altogether, she carried her precious alabaster box of perfume to the feet of Jesus. With tears she began to anoint His feet with the expensive, fragrant oil.

As the stunned Pharisee surveyed the situation, he made a basic assessment that this woman was unworthy to touch Jesus. It was probably easy to tell by her dress and her manners that she had not lived a godly life. In one glance he not only denounced the woman, but he also secretly condemned Jesus because He allowed her to minister to Him. “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39). The interesting thing about Simon’s conclusion is that it is absolutely true. This Man, Jesus, was far more than a prophet. He was prophet, priest, and king. He was God in the flesh. Therefore, He certainly did know what manner of woman was touching Him. In fact, He knew better than anyone that she was a sinner.

The mistake that Simon made was to assume he knew how Jesus treated sinners. It was far different from the way Pharisees, and often Christians, treated people they labeled as sinners. Before Jesus’ birth, the angel had said, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). John explained, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Jesus’ purpose on earth had always been to save sinners, not to run from them, condemn them, or make them feel guilty. In Luke 7:48 Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” She might have been the least likely candidate in the room, but she was the one to whom Jesus granted forgiveness. Simon needed to learn the lesson that God’s big arms of forgiveness embrace every person, every style, and certainly every sin.

Simon made another more serious mistake while quickly slapping the woman with the “sinner” label. He obviously forgot that under his self-righteous robe, his heart was branded with that same label. Simon might not have looked like a sinner or even acted like a sinner. He was probably a very religious, well-groomed, highly respected, and well-educated sinner, but he was still a sinner. Romans 3 makes it very clear that there are no exceptions to the sinner rule. But this Pharisee obviously had difficulty seeing his own sinfulness. Perhaps he fell into the category of sinner mentioned in Psalm 36:1 and 2 (NIV) who has “no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.” We don’t really know, but we do know that Luke 7 does not mention forgiveness for this proud Pharisee.

Jesus eventually told Simon a parable to point out that those who are forgiven much, love much and that those who are forgiven little, love little. It is not that some have a small amount of sin. Everyone has a debt of sin on their account that is greater than they can fathom. But people who stand ready to condemn obviously never stopped to consider the magnitude of what God has done for them or what He needs to do for them. Individuals who grasp their own sinfulness and the miracle of God’s forgiveness in their lives are not quite so quick to point out sin in the lives of others. They are too overwhelmed with what God has done in their own lives.

Sometimes it is easy for us as Christians to watch the world with condemnation instead of compassion. We forget that the people around us are no different than we are. They may look different, act different, and speak different. But just like us, they are sinners who need Jesus. Jesus was willing to do more than watch sinful people. He sought them out, talked to them, and engaged them in meaningful conversation. His goal was to forgive them of their sin, the one thing that stood between them and eternity with Him. When Jesus left earth, He gave us the ministry of reaching sinners. “That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). When we see the amazing variety of people around us, we need to be building bridges into their world to reach them as Jesus did. We need the heart of Jesus to share the good news of the gospel with others, instead of being content to watch the world go by.

Think outside the box about ways to connect with women:

  • Teach English as a second language.
  • Provide free tutoring after school for children of single moms.
  • Work at a crisis pregnancy center.
  • Work at a food pantry.
  • Start a garage sale club to go to garage sales.
  • Provide cooking, sewing, or quilting classes for the community.
  • Teach parenting classes at your local elementary school.
  • Start a Bible study in a prison.
  • Start a summer garden club to share plants and visit local gardens.
  • Start a running, biking, or walking group that explores local trails.
  • Hold welcome classes for women who move into your area to help them get connected.

E-mail me unique ways that you connect and minister to women.