Did you know that every day in the world 115,000 children are aborted, 58,000 are abducted or run away, 40,000 are orphaned because of AIDS, 25,000 die of starvation and disease and another 3,000 are sold into sex slavery? I don’t know about you, but these figures made my stomach turn within me when I first heard them, and I soon realized that the queasiness inside me was actually a sense of profound disappointment not just in what has happened to the world that I live in but in myself for not noticing it.
Though I have always been moved deeply by stories of suffering, especially among children, I realized that I have not really comprehended and appreciated what is truly happening to kids around the world every day. Though I suspected that there were children who were suffering, I never realized that the problem could really be that serious. But, when we find out that 9 million children are dying every year before reaching their 5th birthday simply because they don’t have access to food and clean water, then we can begin to truly appreciate the fact that what we really have is not so much a social problem but a veritable epidemic of suffering.
And, the question I am left with in light of this is simply: Am I doing anything to help alleviate this suffering? In other words, what am I doing personally to actually help make the world a little bit safer for its most vulnerable inhabitants? If the most vulnerable do not have the means to speak for or fend for themselves, then the reality is that someone must do it for them. And that means that if I have a voice, then I must use it for those who cannot, and if I have the strength, then I must also summon it for those who do not.
Isaiah 1:17 says “Learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the orphans; plead the widow’s cause.” So, the prophet gave us a clarion call to both speak for and defend the least protected of our society. Likewise, James 1:27 says “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” By “visit”, James meant to champion and care for the cause of the most vulnerable around us.
So, what exactly is that “cause”? The cause, as the prophet rightly said, is justice. The cause, therefore, that we must embrace is seeking justice for the oppressed. And, the way that we seek justice is by speaking and acting on their behalf. What this means is that we are to both call attention to their suffering and intercede to alleviate their suffering.
But, why should this cause be so important to us? The answer is simply because it was important to Jesus. And, if something is important to Jesus, then it should certainly be important to us. One only has to read one chapter of Scripture to gain an appreciation for how strongly Jesus feels about the health and welfare of children. And, that chapter is the 18th chapter of the gospel according to Matthew.
In Matthew 18:3-6 Jesus says: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Jesus clearly told us that whoever “causes” a child to sin should suffer for his offense. And, by his words, it is obvious that Jesus is gravely serious about sinning against kids. He actually adds a jolting statement to shock the listener into appreciating the depths of his frustration over the suffering of little children. So, it is clear from Jesus’ words that it is a sin to harm a child, but would it also be a sin not to help a child? In other words, could not helping a child who is in distress be equally sinful as harming one?
The application for us would be that if we see that a child is suffering and we fail to do anything about it, then would we not be in effect contributing to the sin that is occurring? It’s interesting that when we talk about the abuse of children, we also usually talk about neglect. Whereas abuse is actively harming children by inflicting pain on them, neglect is passively harming children by failing to care for them. And, if we consider neglect to be just as wrong as abuse, then would we not be guilty of neglecting children if we fail to intercede to alleviate their suffering?
James 4:17 tells us that “whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” So, what we’re left with is the simple truth that failing to act is neglect, and neglect is sin. Therefore, it becomes not so much a matter of if I am going to help care for suffering children but how I am going to help them.
The way I see it, there are a few obvious ways that we can invest ourselves into helping to make the world a safer place for children. First, we can invest our voices. That is, we can speak out wherever and whenever we are able. Second, we can invest our time by volunteering to serve in any number of established ministries. Third, we can invest our resources by financially supporting children and the organizations that care for them. And fourth, we can invest our lives by opening our own homes to take in abused or neglected children through foster care or adoption.
The truth is that there are a host of ways that we can get involved in this issue and do the right thing for hurting children. And, choosing not to notice or care is not one of them. I truly believe that this issue matters deeply to God and that we absolutely should make it our business as followers of Jesus to understand what exactly is happening to children and then do something meaningful about it.
Here are some relevant organizations and ministries that you can support and/or get involved in:
www.azhope.com
www.casaforchildren.org
www.cfcare.org
www.childhelp.org
www.compassion.com
www.fh.org
www.helpingmothersandbabies.org
www.ijm.org
www.joy.org
www.littlemiracles.org
www.medsandfoodforkids.org
www.mentorkidsusa.org
www.missingkids.com
www.rememberpoor.org
www.streetlightphx.com
www.visionabolition.org
www.withchildphx.org
www.younglife.org/younglives
