Will This Soften Our Hard Hearts?

In this episode of Wake Up, Look Up, Pastor Zach explores how reading fiction and engaging with stories can increase empathy and help us better understand the experiences and perspectives of others. He connects the decline of reading with our growing reliance on short-form content, challenging listeners to slow down, embrace nuance, and make space for stories that help us see the humanity in others. Drawing from Scripture and the example of Jesus, Pastor Zach reminds us that understanding someone's story can help us better rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Zach Weihrauch

Follower of Jesus who has graciously given me a wife to love, children to shepherd, and a church to pastor.

What is Wake Up, Look Up?

Check out new episodes of our daily podcast, Wake Up, Look Up, with Zach Weihrauch as he interprets what's happening in our world through the lens of the gospel.

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we examine events happening in real time through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and today's episode we're asking the question, will this soften our hard hearts? This is prompted by an article I read in the Washington Post by Richard Seema. And the article was looking at what science is teaching us about reading fiction, reading stories that aren't true. They're literature. And here's what we find. Reading fiction actually increases empathy in human beings. Reading the stories of other people actually creates a feeling of sympathy and empathy, positive feelings towards other humans, human beings. A 2025 analysis showed of about 21 different studies showed that children who read storybooks demonstrate greater empathy. Another story found that 900 children who were reading fiction for reading comprehension later produced a dramatic increase in empathy and empathy for other people. Actually made them want to read more, forming kind of like a really positive feedback loop. researchers say this is because the more we look at the complexity and nuances of another person's story, which fiction, tends to do, the more we understand them and empathize with their position. A, study of adults of over 5,000 people showed that those who read fiction, were able to better understand nuance, appreciate other people's perspectives and other people's worldview. In short, they were more loving, more understanding, more naturally empathetic of other people. I say this because, look, in our culture we could use more empathy, right? I mean, the tribalism, the, the arguing, the, the, the banter back and forth. We're not getting better at relationships, we're getting worse. And I do feel a little bit like an old man telling you to get off my lawn when I do all these episodes about how important reading is. But here's another example. Is it any wonder that we are reading less and less than we ever have? Everything's about 30 second clips on the Internet, TikToks, Reels, Instagram. And as a byproduct of reading less, we're more quickly frustrated, more quickly agitated, tough to get nuance, complexity or other people's perspectives in a 15 second clip on the Internet. And maybe the path towards empathy isn't saying be empathetic, be empathetic, but it's picking up enough and doing some reading. Listen, Jesus told stories. The Bible uses stories, historic and allegorical, to illustrate its points. Because God understands. He built us for stories. The Bible itself comes to us as the story. Although true of what God is doing in history to redeem people. Look, Paul says it this way. In Romans 12:15, he says, Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with. With those who mourn. but he's not talking about an empty kind of response, a faux rejoicing or a faux mourning. He's talking about the kind of joint rejoicing and mourning you do when you understand what's going on in someone's life, when you understand, wait for it, their story. So, look, if you find yourself increasingly bitter, increasingly difficult, increasingly agitated, going from one conflict to the next, maybe you need a little less screen time and a little more reading time. And yes, of course, reading the Bible, reading the stories that are there. But even picking up a novel and realizing the world is complex, people have reasons for the things they do. It doesn't make them right, it just makes them human. And if we could all begin to appreciate each other's humanity a little bit more, I think we'd love each other a little bit better. And as a result, and we'd have a much better world. Hey, thanks for checking out Wake Up, Look Up. For more content, be sure to visit the Christ Community Chapel app or website cccchapel.com.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at [e-mail]!