Here is a question I would like for you to think about with me for a few minutes today. My question is this: are you a people watcher? If you are, then you belong to a great club called “The People Watchers of America,” and we have several million members.

Of all the creatures that God placed on this earth, without doubt human beings are the most interesting of all of them. The idea for this column came one day recently when Janis and I needed a few things from our local Walmart store. We don’t shop there often, but every once in a while there are some things we need that we can’t find anywhere else. During most of our shopping trips we get separated, but at some point, call each other on our cell phones to see if we have everything and are about ready to go.

            One day earlier this week we needed a few things and the charge on my phone was gone, so I did not take it with me. Janis always shops a little more closely than I do, so I go up to a bench near the check-out stands to wait for her. Well, this trip she took considerably more time, so I was left on this bench by myself for almost an hour. If you ever want some great people watching, I can highly recommend Walmart. As I sat there and began to watch people, it was almost like getting a college degree in people watching. As I am sure you know, all of us are different, some people are tall, others short, some skinny as a rail and others just plain obese.

            Occasionally someone would speak to me, nod or smile and go on their way. Of course, some shoppers couldn’t walk and rode one of those carts the store has on hand for these people. I also noticed that you could tell a lot about a person if you watched the way they walked. A few were quick and alert and appeared to be in good physical condition, while others you could tell were struggling just to make it down the aisle. Again, people are the most interesting creatures in the world. But later my mind turned to more important things. Everyone has a story, and if given the opportunity I could interview each one to learn their name, where they grew up, went to school, what they did for a living, whether they were married or not, if they had children and other details. We are all different. I have found many people are friendly, and outgoing, while others looked like their face would break if they smiled.

But then my mind turned to something much more serious, first if they knew Jesus and where they would spend eternity. In these days when so many Americans are living hand to mouth, you just wonder about their financial condition. The statistics say that most of our citizens do not have even a paltry $400 to their name. The bottom line for me is what can I do or say that would make life better for every person I can influence. We are our brother’s keeper and should always be willing to help our fellow man. To be sure, there are lots of hurting people in our nation today. Since that day I have listened to our President’s State of the Union address and thought to myself, when you want to give away the store to get votes, you just dig the hole deeper that we will never be able to climb out of, as our national debt is now more than $34 trillion. That is with a “T” and a trillion is one thousand billion. All of us need to be better informed to make better choices.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)