What Makes You Cry

Posted by Christian St John in Faithblogs | 0 comments

Last evening I attended the weekly Cell Group at my current church. Somehow, near the end of the evening, we got onto the subject of what makes us cry. Well it wasn’t long until we were talking about movie and shows (this happens a lot) and one guy in the group revealed that when he watched Marley & Me with his kids he cried. Another guy in the group admitted that TV shows such as The X Factor, Home Makeover, and America’s Got Talent make him cry… of course I ribbed him about this And then it was my turn… what shows or movies make me cry?

Well, being a typical warm blooded male I often hide my emotions, especially the weepy, gushy, crying stuff. And being a little cynical by nature I must admit that I can watch most movies and shows and not shed a tear; In fact I laugh at the falsity and cheap Hollywood tricks that are designed to tug at the heartstrings. With that said movies such as The Passion of the Christ, Schindler’s List, Amistad, Hotel Rwanda, and Shooting Dogs, did get the old tear ducts leaking.

But the bigger question remains, What makes you cry? For some it may be movies or shows, visual reminders of the goodness or badness that exists in our world. And this is fine… unless of course your a guy crying hopelessly to chick movies, which is only OK in a “I’m being tortured, HELP ME!” kind of way. You might cry for the plight of people around the world, for victims of wars, cancers, violence, abuse, or sickness. You should most definitely cry for loved ones when they are in need – Jesus did (John 11:35). To be honest, there are thousands, if not millions of reasons to cry and you know what… it’s OK. For an emotionally constipated male such as myself this is a big realization, but it’s true.

Another thing we spoke about last evening is the fact that everyday God’s heart is broken by those who go against Him and His Ways. Like a good Father he allows us to make our own decisions, but this doesn’t mean he has to like what we chose. And I’m sure that our Father in Heaven has shed more than a few tears for us and the stupid things we have done.

So, go ahead and ask yourself, what makes me cry?

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
November, 2009