What Grieves My Heart
The more time I spend in new environments in this Bay Area the more I notice things that grieve my heart. I see things that I believe would make the Father sad wherever I go. I see poverty and homelessness, addiction and hopelessness. Actually, hopelessness and despair exist throughout this land, with the rich and poor and the in between. You’ve got your drugs and alcohol. You’ve got your couples with failing marriages. You’ve got single Moms and wayward Dads. You’ve got Moms cheating on husbands. You’ve got the lifeless people, looking good on the outside but dead on the inside, working 9 to 5 or maybe 5 to 9. You’ve got women paralyzed by fear they are not pretty enough. You’ve got men in San Quentin praying for parole. You’ve got men on the streets addicted to speed realizing their Father doesn’t know how to love them.
But there is one thing that I just can’t get over…the kids. As I write this I see two youngsters being held by their Dad as he yells at them for being too loud. The boy begins to cry. Two of the most amazing young teenage women I know do not have Fathers living with them. One of them has not had a Father for most of her young life. I spoke with a young mother the other day who could not get her baby to stop crying. Moments later I saw her sitting with a man outside, both of them puffing smoke into the stroller. I watched the baby breathe the air, not knowing what was happening. I found out later the mother is mentally ill.
Through Isaiah over and over I read about the orphan that is not being cared for. The City of Jerusalem has forgotten the orphan, and God is not pleased, to say the least.
The children…they can’t defend themselves. They can’t teach themselves. They can’t help themselves. Who will be their advocate? Who will be their friend?
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Paul Davis writes the heart of God is breaking for kids. God wants us to be little children but we try to fix the little ones by giving them drugs to be quiet and do well in school; we spend time with them using TV, Movies, and Video games, we drop them off at Sunday school hoping the all female volunteer staff will teach our kids solid biblical theology, we feed them food that that has fun colors shapes and ingredients, we show them that “stuff” makes you happy, we don’t have time to pray for them or read the bible with them we have to stay focused on what is important.
pdavis@simpsonuniversity.edu
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