“You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry,” (Exo 22:22-23)
Sometimes, well at least right now, I wonder, “How on earth have I been so blessed?” Not rich, not even having the best friends or a life of selfish ease…. But, rather, I’ve always seemed to be protected from a lot of trouble.
And, every now and again, I remember that God seems to be really concerned with the fatherless. And, let’s face it, I didn’t have much of a father figure growing up. Or, a mother figure. Only people who would sometimes take care of me by my mother’s direction… for most of my life. But I guess my mother did pay the bills.
You know, while we are on this topic I want to share this. I remember going to a friend’s house who was poorer than I. At some point, I had a simple thought: “I would rather be in this smaller house with my actual mother by my side, than in my big house with this junk food cabinet that I, so frequently, visited.”
I felt a sense of love in that house. The boy, so less fortunate than I, had his mom and his mom had him. They were together. They loved each other. At least, in the frail human way. And, he seemed happy. I wasn’t quite happy. I felt alone most of the time.
I think that it’s important to recognize how God really thinks. And one thing I’ve learned is that God is really concerned with the fatherless. I mean, look how He describes true religion.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, …
James 1:27
Ok, so the KJV says “fatherless” but the ESV says “orphans”. Now, is an orphan just a child who has been completely abandoned by their parents in the street… or, can an orphan be a child abandoned by their parents in their own home?
Or, can there be spiritual orphans too? Could there be children of God, who have been committed to the hand of particular parents and/or institutions, churches, etc. which have abandoned God’s children?
Let me tell you a story. When I was a child, my mom took me to a strange country and dropped me off with a strange woman. She was nice, but I didn’t know her. My mom stayed with me for a short time and, then, one day she sprung the truth upon me. She said she was going to leave me there for a time.
I cried, I cried, I cried, I cried and I cried some more. I didn’t understand it at the time but I was crying because my mother, my only biological mother, just abandoned me in a completely different country with a stranger.
She, essentially, made me an orphan… willingly. And, you know, I went on to repeat that same strategy with the love of my life. In a different way. I knew I was going to leave her behind and I waited until the very last day to tell her.
One thing they say about fatherless, black children is that they’re more likely to end up in prison. That’s interesting, it’s like children who don’t have their father figure end up more violent or more willing to commit other crimes. Maybe it’s a simple cry for help? Maybe they don’t even expect to receive help so they do whatever they can to acquire what they need?
Then, it’s really important that we recognize that some people really are less fortunate than others. It’s not just their fault. They may have had no one to teach them Bible religion. Or, to teach them how to simply be a successful citizen. So, they resort to self preservation. But, the reality is that they haven’t been shown a better way.
This is why God commands us to visit the fatherless in their affliction. Because, it’s one of His ways of redeeming people and showing them His true Character. Through His believers.