One of the most popular bars in the Chinese city of Nanjing contains only a sofa, a few tables, and lots of tissues. An international news service reported that it’s the city’s first ‘cry bar’, where customers can sit and cry for six dollars per hour, and is growing in popularity. The owner says he opened the bar because many of his previous clients said they often wanted to cry but didn’t know where it would be appropriate to do so.
It may sound like a way of capitalizing on people’s misfortune; but most of us know how much relief can come from a good cry, and there’s a strong Biblical tradition that encourages God’s people to help others do just that. ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice,’ it says, ‘And weep with those who weep.’ Until that day comes when ‘God will wipe every tear from our eyes.’