Looky-Loo's

by Tim Howard

Maybe I’m just too sensitive, but I always feel a little sheepish when I walk into a store, knowing I won’t be buying anything.  I’ll just be browsing along and some salesperson will spot me and start moving in my direction.  Maybe what makes me feel bad is his or her look of hope and expectancy. You can almost hear them say to themselves, finally a customer so I can receive some commission! So the salesperson pleasantly asks, “May I help you?”  To which I answer with the two most hated words in the life of a salesperson--“Just looking”.  I am such a disappointment.

In the Old Testament, we come across the term: “Seer.” It referred to a person who could look into the future and look into the heavens to discern what God was about to do or what He was currently doing. These people were later called prophets and in our culture we might call them visionaries.

These gifted people, however, were anything but Looky-Loo’s. They acted upon what they saw by declaring truth to people or by demonstrating in practical form, what God was declaring in the spiritual realm. These men and women practiced what they preached.

Before you act, however, you do need to see something. You need a vision! You need to look before you act. If you don’t have a vision, you will amble around being active and busy but not making any real progress.

May I suggest five good things to look at!

First: Look to God’s Word for wisdom and pray the prayer David prayed in Psalms 119.  “Open my eyes to see wonderful things in your word.”  An amazing thing happens when you read the Bible on a regular basis.  Your insight begins to develop and you begin to see life from God’s perspective.  God’s Word is like an airplane, it lifts you up to an altitude where the view of life is radically changed.

Second: Look to God for your ultimate help.  People may disappoint, governments may fail, banks may not provide financial assistance, but the words of Psalms 121 are still true: “My help comes from the Lord”. 

Third: Look for opportunities to help people.

Fourth: Look at what a person can be, rather than what they are.  This will enhance your relationships. 

Last of all: Look for the good and not just the bad.  There is plenty of both. 

Once you have seen these things, however, decide to act. Act on God’s Word. Don’t be content to read and grow intellectually. Grow experientially too! When you look at someone in need, lend a helping hand.

Too often, people have no intention of buying into what Jesus is doing.  They’re just looking!  Actually, everywhere Jesus did miracles there seemed to be two groups – the ‘expectors’ – who were looking to be involved in what Jesus was doing and the ‘inspectors’ – who were just looking at what Jesus was doing. 

What bothers me is that the inspectors were the religious folks, the spiritual veterans.  They were always so busy analyzing what Jesus was doing that they missed what Jesus was really wanting to do through them. 

It’s not just sales people who are bothered by folks who are “just looking”. People trouble Jesus – often people like you and me – who aren’t interested in being true spiritually. The Apostle James calls them ‘people who claim to have faith yet have no works to back them up’.

If you are going to look to Jesus for provision and directives, please buy into what He gives. Don’t be a Looky-loo, it’s not healthy.