Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:4-5)
When I read this verse, I was thinking that I wanted to write about singing praises, but on my walk, the question of who our society’s fatherless are, and who our society’s widows are kept coming to mind. Who are they, and how can we be fathers and defenders for them? There is no end to the list of groups who will claim victimhood, but in ancient society, widows and orphans had no one. The government wasn’t there for them. Today, whether well or poorly, right or wrong, the government provides at least some. The problem is, what they provide isn’t solving the problem.
I’ve read about this issue a little – not nearly enough – and one of the things I’ve learned is that we often try to help in the wrong way and end up doing more harm than good. Very likely, I need to do some research to find out, for example, what the programs at my church are that are supposed to help those in need.
As useful as that information may be, I think it’s sidestepping the main issue. You and I are supposed to be caring for our widows and orphans. I don’t know enough about my neighborhood to know who the widows or orphans are. Yes, I live next door to two widows and there’s another down the street that I know about, but they all have children. I don’t want in intrude on their lives. I also know that up to forty percent of children born today will be born to single mothers. I know that parents and grandparents are being abandoned in nursing homes or left to die at home, alone. I know that single people struggle with trying to do everything.
In my thinking about this subject, I keep coming back to two ideas. The first is that we should be far more aware of the skill sets of those around us, and that the church should seek, first, to meet the all the needs of all of its attendees first. We as individuals should figure out our own skill sets and capabilities and make use of them. We as a church body should be taking care of our own, not enriching them, not doing for them what they can do for themselves, but we should know what they need, and I don’t think we do. So often, it seems as though the eyes of the church are on the ends of the world. We should be helping those in other lands. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t – just that we should begin at home and move out as God gives us the capacity.
And we should have a better plan for our work. Those who attend church should be taught and discipled. How are we doing that? I’m not talking about social club atmospheres, but a real core of folks who are dedicated to learning and teaching. We need people to address the physical needs of those with whom we share pews. We need to address their emotional, social, and financial needs.
Once we are doing all of that, we need to expand into our neighborhoods and repeat the process. We need to know what’s going on in our schools and in our governments as well. For those of us who live near the county seat, there’s another layer. Are we writing to our legislators? I know I’m not. And I have to ask why?
Part of the answer is that I’ve been busy for the past several years. Part of the answer is cowardice. Part of the answer is the lack of education. If we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do, it needs to start where we are, not where we aren’t.
I’ve read about this issue a little – not nearly enough – and one of the things I’ve learned is that we often try to help in the wrong way and end up doing more harm than good. Very likely, I need to do some research to find out, for example, what the programs at my church are that are supposed to help those in need.
As useful as that information may be, I think it’s sidestepping the main issue. You and I are supposed to be caring for our widows and orphans. I don’t know enough about my neighborhood to know who the widows or orphans are. Yes, I live next door to two widows and there’s another down the street that I know about, but they all have children. I don’t want in intrude on their lives. I also know that up to forty percent of children born today will be born to single mothers. I know that parents and grandparents are being abandoned in nursing homes or left to die at home, alone. I know that single people struggle with trying to do everything.
In my thinking about this subject, I keep coming back to two ideas. The first is that we should be far more aware of the skill sets of those around us, and that the church should seek, first, to meet the all the needs of all of its attendees first. We as individuals should figure out our own skill sets and capabilities and make use of them. We as a church body should be taking care of our own, not enriching them, not doing for them what they can do for themselves, but we should know what they need, and I don’t think we do. So often, it seems as though the eyes of the church are on the ends of the world. We should be helping those in other lands. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t – just that we should begin at home and move out as God gives us the capacity.
And we should have a better plan for our work. Those who attend church should be taught and discipled. How are we doing that? I’m not talking about social club atmospheres, but a real core of folks who are dedicated to learning and teaching. We need people to address the physical needs of those with whom we share pews. We need to address their emotional, social, and financial needs.
Once we are doing all of that, we need to expand into our neighborhoods and repeat the process. We need to know what’s going on in our schools and in our governments as well. For those of us who live near the county seat, there’s another layer. Are we writing to our legislators? I know I’m not. And I have to ask why?
Part of the answer is that I’ve been busy for the past several years. Part of the answer is cowardice. Part of the answer is the lack of education. If we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do, it needs to start where we are, not where we aren’t.
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