The paper was laminated.
Like a menu.
Curious, I looked at what was being offered.
Women.
I closed my eyes, my heart hurting. The woman soliciting the “ping pong show” made eye contact and gave me a knowing smile, trying to encourage me to look again at the paper.
In her industry, looking was the first step. Get them to take the first glance. Curiosity triggers the second look. Then the choice is made to continue looking, to watch, to lust, and eventually to buy.
We were on Bangla Road—some call it the must-see epicenter of nightlife in Southern Thailand, others call it the pit of hell. In 400 meters, close to 200 bars and about 1200 girls for sale exist.
The rest of the night as we prayed over Bangla Road, the looking captivated me. I didn’t focus on the bars but rather on the faces of the people about to become customers. I watched men’s faces become glued to a dancer as they passed by with their wives. I watched women look at women, admiring the skimpy outfits and sex appeal.
I saw the double-takes and the hungry stares and the reaching for the wallets. I saw the blank faces of the gorgeous women walking arm-in-arm into the night with the stumbling men.
It all started with a look.
The problem goes beyond the choice to look and more so into the seeing. Seeing the seductive women as objects instead of daughters. Seeing the short skirts and exposed bellies as green lights to touch and grab. Failing to see that the women are worth more than the price they are paid for that night.
In the eyes of God these women are His daughters! The men buying them are His sons. They are both loved and valued in God’s eyes. He loves us no matter what we have done or are currently doing. It breaks His heart to look at us through eyes of love despite our failures and see us look at others with eyes of hate, eyes of lust, and eyes of judgment.
What are we choosing to see? And through what eyes are we looking?
I never understood that verse until now. The eyes regulate the motion of the body. Ballerinas and yogis fix their eyes on a stable spot to find balance in otherwise unstable circumstances. What we look at determines our actions.
