Gandhi on How to Effectively Spread Christianity

We read this passage in the car today, and I wanted to just reproduce the whole quote verbatim:

In conversation with him one day I said, "Mahatma Gandhi, I am very anxious to see Christianity naturalized in India, so that it shall be no longer a foreign thing identified with a foreign people and a foreign government, but a part of the national life of India and contributing its power to India's uplift and redemption.  What would you suggest that we do to make that possible?"

He very gravely and thoughtfully replied: "I would suggest, first, that all of you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ."

He needn't have said anything more--that was quite enough.  I knew that looking through his eyes were the three hundred millions of India, and speaking through his voice were the silent millions of the East saying to me, a representative of the West, and through me to the very West itself, "If you will come to us in the spirit of your Master, we cannot resist you." Never was there a greater challenge to the West than that, and never was it more sincerely given.

"Second," he said, "I would suggest that you must practice your religion without adulterating or toning it down."

This is just as remarkable as the first.  The greatest living non-Christian asks us not to adulterate it or tone it down, not to meet them with a emasculated gospel, but to take it in its rugged simplicity and high demand.  But what are we doing?  As someone has suggested, we are inoculating the world with a mild form of Christianity, so that it is now practically immune against the real thing.  Vast areas of the Christian world are inoculated with a mild form of Christianity, and the real thing seems strange and impossible.  As one puts it, "Our churches are made up of people who would be equally shocked to see Christianity doubted or put into practice."  I am not anxious to see India take a mild form--I want her to take the real thing.

"Third, I would suggest that you must put your emphasis upon love, for love is the center and soul of Christianity."

He did not mean love as a sentiment, but love as a working force, the one real power in a moral universe, and he wanted it applied between individuals and groups and races and nations, the one cement and salvation of the world.  With a soul so sensitive to the meaning of love no wonder there were tears in his eyes when I read him at that point the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.

"Fourth, I would suggest that you study the non-Christian religions and culture more sympathetically in order to find the good that is in them, so that you might have a more sympathetic approach to the people."

Quite right.  We should be grateful for any truth found anywhere, knowing that it is a finger post that points to Jesus, who is the Truth.

When I mentioned these four things to the Chief Justice of the High Court in North India, the noble, sympathetic, Christian Britisher exclaimed: "He could not have put his finger on four more important things.  It took spiritual genius and insight to do that."

- E. Stanley Jones, missionary in India and friend and biographer of Mahatma Gandhi, in Christ of the Indian Road, 1925.

Basil the Great

Today the Coptic Church celebrates Basil of Caesarea, also known as St. Basil the Great, a bishop of the fourth century. Basil holds a prominent place in Orthodox history. He was the brother of Gregory of Nyssa and close friend of Gregory the Theologian, and together the three had a profound impact on the theology and direction of the church. To the average Copt, Basil is best known as the compiler of the liturgy that is prayed every Sunday in Coptic churches. To historians, Basil is also known as one of the first founders of hospitals and centralized social services to the poor, which he began in response to famine. He was a constant advocate for the poor, and spoke out against the practices of the wealthy in a manner that few preachers are willing to do today. In honor of Basil the Great, I wanted to share one extended quote from a sermon of his that I read recently, Homily 6, entitled “I Shall Tear Down My Barns” (in reference to Luke 12).  I will warn you - this sermon will sound very blunt to modern American ears, which are not used to such direct confrontation on economic issues.

“But whom do I treat unjustly,” you say, “by keeping what is my own?” Tell me, what is your own? What did you bring into this life? From where did you receive it? It is as if someone were to take the first seat in the theater, then bar everyone else from attending, so that one person alone enjoys what is offered for the benefit of all in common—this is what the rich do. They seize common goods before others have the opportunity, then claim them as their own by right of preemption. For if we all took only what was necessary to satisfy our own needs, giving the rest to those who lack, no one would be rich, no one would be poor, and no one would be in need.

Did you not come forth naked from the womb, and will you not return naked to the earth? Where then did you obtain your belongings? If you say that you acquired them by chance, then you deny God, since you neither recognize your Creator, nor are you grateful to the One who gave these things to you. But if you acknowledge that they were given to you by God, then tell me, for what purpose did you receive them? Is God unjust, when He distributes to us unequally the things that are necessary for life? Why then are you wealthy while another is poor? Why else, but so that you might receive the reward of benevolence and faithful stewardship, while the poor are honored for patient endurance in their struggles? But you, stuffing everything into the bottomless pockets for your greed, assume that you wrong no one; yet how many do you in fact dispossess?

Who are the greedy? Those who are not satisfied with what suffices for their own needs. Who are the robbers? Those who take for themselves what rightfully belongs to everyone. And you, are you not greedy? Are you not a robber? The things you received in trust as a stewardship, have you not appropriated them for yourself? Is not the person who strips another of clothing called a thief? And those who do not clothe the naked when they have the power to do so, should they not be called the same? The bread you are holding back is for the hungry, the clothes you keep put away are for the naked, the shoes that are rotting away with disuse are for those who have none, the silver you keep buried in the earth is for the needy. You are thus guilty of injustice toward as many as you might have aided, and did not.

I read this in a collection of sermons by Basil on the topics of wealth and poverty, entitled On Social Justice. Besides two sermons generally addressed to the wealthy, the book also includes sermons on the proper response to natural disaster, advice to those who loan or wish to procure loans with interest, and the twin precepts of mercy and justice.

The dangers of inappropriate section breaks

Modern Bibles often break up books in ways that were not intended by the authors. For example, here is a short story in the NIV, set off all by itself and titled "The Widow's Offering":

Luke 21

The Widow’s Offering

1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

A simple lesson about how giving sacrificially is more meaningful than giving out of a surplus, right? Well, that's how it was taught to me every time I heard it, and that is what I had thought it was about. But let's break up those sections and put the same passage in its actual context. Here is Luke 20:45 through 21:6.  I'll cheat and highlight two lines.

  While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
  Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Do you see what I see?

That short passage is usually broken up into three separate sections. If that were correct, then the placement of the middle section between the other two makes no sense at all. But in reality, it shouldn't be broken up.  The theme of judgement flows right through.  The theme of the gifts of the people being used for a corrupt temple flows right through.   "Beware of the teachers of the law" leads to "they devour widows' houses" leads to the example of "a poor widow" who "out of her poverty put in all she had to live on" leads to the judgement of God against the temple in direct response to remarks at how it is adorned from such gifts.

Practical Tips: Making New Friendships

This is my second blog post on practical steps towards community with Jesus and the poor. While I feel like the first subject (simplicity) was a tool that helps us follow God into love for others, this subject (friendships with marginalized persons) gets to the very essence of God's heart. Once again, you don't have to follow these steps in this order.



Step zero: Inspiration - Read From Brokenness to Community by Jean Vanier. The book is only 43 pages long. You can finish it in one sitting. But take your time.  If you consider his words seriously, there is a decent chance that it could change your life.


Step one: Make a new friend – Most of us do not spend time in the same places that marginalized persons live. Our neighborhoods are too expensive and our jobs are too well-paying. So the first thing you have to do is find a place that is closer to the margins of society. There may be a street near your work where people beg, a neighborhood on the way home known for people living on the sidewalks, or an institution nearby for people who are elderly or who have mental disabilities. Make sure it is place you can go back to regularly, because friendship will only happen if you have a consistent presence in that place. Go there once and find someone with some free time. Start a conversation. Ask questions. Learn from them. If possible, you can find a spot to have lunch together. And make sure you come back. Get comfortable enough in the place that people feel okay initiating conversations with you.


Step two: Invite someone into your home – Open up your home for dinner to someone who wouldn't normally get the chance. This might be a single mother from church, a veteran you met at the food pantry, or the person you became friends with in Step One. The more simple you've made your life, the more comfortable you will be taking this step. Try not to make it a one-time event - invite people as often as you are able. If possible, make it a potluck so your guest can contribute some of the food too. Try to create an atmosphere where they feel safe inviting you to their home as well. As in the first step, take steps that allow the friendships you form to last.


Step three: Make use of your extra room – Many Westerners have more rooms in their home than they need. Many other Westerners don't have enough resources to independently maintain a safe home. If your family could free up a room in your home, you could make that room available to someone who needs it. That "someone" might be a foreign college student who is just starting to learn the culture. It might be a kid who needs a foster family. It might be a disabled adult who can almost provide for their own needs, but lacks a family support structure. It might be a single mother who has trouble working and taking care of her kids at the same time while living alone. It might be someone you met in steps one or two. It doesn't matter who it is, the question is - do they need a home, and can you be that home?  It's okay in many cases to charge affordable rent, so that the person you're inviting into your home can make a contribution.  Shared chores and other shared responsibilities are also important.


Step four: Relocate to a new community – Step one started with the assumption that most of us aren't in the same communities as the marginalized. Ideally, we should change that. Move into a place that most people who are "like you" want to move out of. That may be an inner-city neighborhood where everyone is a different ethnicity than you, or the district that all the newest immigrants move into. It might be the area that's known for heavy drug use, or prostitution, or homelessness. In some regions it might be a rural area that has been neglected so that it doesn't have the basic facilities. Whatever kind of place it is, make sure it is a place where it is easy to find people who are significantly different than you, and live with intentional love there.


Further Study - I have found Friendship at the Margins and Making Room to be fantastic books on what it really means to be community to the people around us. Both books are best suited for those people who already take service to their community and friendship with marginalized people seriously, but want to understand more about what it means theologically and practically to love the people around them better.

I didn't talk much about why community with marginalized persons is important. Hopefully, if you've been my friend for a while, you've been able to get some idea of that. But if you're not sure, I'm happy to dialogue, as well as recommend many more books on the subject.

Life in Vancouver

I've loved my time in Vancouver, but I haven't shared much about our lives here.  For those of you who don't know, my wife and I have been in Vancouver doing orientation, formation, and team-building work with the goal of eventually serving in a slum in Asia.

There's a lot of cool stuff to talk about, but I figured I'd just give a breakdown of our typical day:

7:00am: At least a couple times a week I join the morning drop-in at the local gospel mission.  It's a chance to just get a coffee and chat with the guys, meet people, invite them to dinner at our place, etc.

9:00am: Team prayer meeting built around Scripture reading and intercessory prayer with a focus on justice.

10:00am: Language study, cultural experiences, team meeting, or anti-trafficking project, depending on day.

Noon-5pm: Depending on the day there might be scheduled meetings with staff or associated personnel, a team meeting to work through the new teams preparation manual, babysitting, or work around the house.  Sometimes community members drop by the house or I'll go out hiking at one of Vancouver's parks.

5:00pm: Three times a week we have a community dinner, which we (including other from the community) take turns preparing.  Anyone from the community is invited, provided they are willing to help clean up afterwards.  One day a week that community dinner is followed by “Creative World Justice”, where different people from the community come together to discuss issues of Biblical justice and creative techniques for addressing justice in society, then take practical steps to fight against the human trafficking and cruise ship labor exploitation that they've seen as major issues in our local community.  One day a week we have a team-only dinner followed by a formation time focused on issues related to living in the slum in Asia.

9:00pm: Evening prayer meeting, consisting of a Taize song, psalm reading, and silent reflection.

That's a pretty good look at life here.  The schedule is occasionally disrupted by all-day workshops (on topics like nonviolent communication or overseas service), or when assisting in the crack cocaine detox program that our house runs for the local community.

If you want to learn more about the community, here are a couple videos.  Thanks for watching!

Kids on the Block from Veritas Media Productions on Vimeo.

Practical tips: Simplicity

A good friend of mine suggested I share practical ideas for those who want to take steps towards community with Jesus and the poor from their current position in life.  I think that’s a really good idea, so I’m going to post on different topics within that sphere.   I know that a lot of other people have good advice too, so please share more ideas in the comments!

My first post is on outer simplicity.   The numbered “steps” correspond to how difficult it is for me to do these things, but it definitely doesn't mean you do things in that order.


Step zero: Background – Read Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster.  Inner simplicity will be lost if outer simplicity is never brought in.   Outer simplicity without inner simplicity will lead to legalism and burnout.  This book ties together every dimension of simplicity in a practical way.   Foster guides us through the joys of simple hearts and simple lives, and I recommend this book to everyone.


Step one: Get rid of clutter – Again, I want to caution first that outer simplicity without an inner grounding can end poorly.  Ask yourself, "Am I doing this to prove something, or to punish myself, or to make myself feel superior?   Or is this part of a larger process of simplifying my inner and outer life so that I can grow closer to other people and to God?"  I do believe that simplicity is a positive goal in everyone’s life, but it needs to be pursued with the right heart.

Now, one starting step is to realize how many possessions we have accumulated that we just don't use.  Do you see things sitting or stored in your home that you wouldn't miss if they were gone?   Are there things that would be better off with someone else, or being sold and the money used for the poor, or even sitting in a thrift store instead of in your home?   Are there things you could borrow from a friend twice a year instead?   Then why have them cluttering up your life?   Extra clothes, books, tools, utensils, cds, decorative items, toys, and other recreational equipment often fit into this category.   In extreme cases, some of us have things that really belong in the garbage can.


Step two: Make meaningful decision about possessions – A further step regarding material possessions is learning to discern which things don’t improve your relationship with God and others.   On a team in Manila I was led through a helpful exercise that I still think about today.  It goes something like this:

First, make a list of everything you own that you need to sustain your life, your relationship to God, and your Godly relationships and service with others.   Include things that you think you need to have to sustain your emotional well-being.

Second, make another list with everyone else you own that didn't get put on the first list.

Third, if doing this in a group, explain your justification for each item on the first list to the others in the group. When we did this in Servant Partners, we had some interesting dialogue on what sort of possessions were necessary!  Of course, you're likely doing this alone, so imagine what you would say if you were justifying these things to others.   Do these possessions really help you in your walk with God and your service to others?

Fourth, consider getting rid of items that remain on the second list.  Would your life be better off without them? If you can part with something, that doesn’t mean you have to – but ask, is it adding more quality to your life than it takes?   Is its cost (whether that be resale value, upkeep costs, or just the time and energy costs of having it around) worth it?  Start with the easy stuff – there’s bound to be at least a car-load of things you can automatically bring to Goodwill, so get rid of that carload first and then work on the harder stuff as you are able.  I thought I had a simple life already, but after I got back from Manila I had to make three trips to the thrift store before I was done getting rid of things on the second list!


Step three: Eliminate time sucks – Get rid of the things that waste your time. This is more difficult than freeing yourself of material possessions.   I'm not saying to eliminate recreation – hobbies and entertainment can be good for the soul and relationships.  But you can discern whether a hobby is beneficial to your life or is taking life away from you.   For some people television, video games, internet browsing, phone and text use, or social media can be the greatest culprits.  For others it may be fruitless social hangouts, following sports, or shopping.   Some activities might need to be scaled back – determine an appropriate amount of time each week that the activity deserves.   Others may be better to quit cold turkey (I’ve had to do this with television and sports for periods of time in the past).  It’s amazing how free you can be to pursue life-giving activities when you get rid of all the waste.


Step four: Prioritize – Finally, learn to get rid of the good things that drain your time and energy away from the best things.   As an American, my tendency can be to do too much and commit to too much, instead of worrying whether I’m doing the important things well.   Concerns like prayer, spiritual reading, time in silence and solitude, personal worship, and quality time with family can fall too low on the list of priorities.  Even spiritual or service-related commitments may need to be dropped – some people commit to too many church services or offer to do too many things far from home.   Ask yourself what central things God is calling you to, then ask yourself, "Am I giving myself the space to do the things I know God is calling me to do as well as God is calling me to do them?"  In 2008 I gave up my Sunday School teaching commitment upon discerning that I lived too far away and had too many other priorities to disciple the students the way they deserved.  I knew that Sunday School was a good service, but God was calling me at that time to work on my new marriage and my preparations for service overseas, and I realized that if I kept trying to do everything, I would do all of it poorly.  These decisions can be difficult, and should only be done after a process of prayer and discernment and wise counsel.   But they can be wonderful for your life if they allow you to focus on loving God and loving others that much deeper.


Extra Credit: Downsize - Sometimes the big things are harder to notice than the small things. Does your family have two cars?  Could it survive on just one?  If you only have one car, could you make due with public transportation and a bike?  Could you live in a smaller, cheaper apartment, and if you live in a house could you move into a cheaper one with fewer rooms and lower energy costs?  How many hours a week do you work at your job, and could you still support yourself just fine if you worked less?  Some people have found that they can maintain a joyful lifestyle with a 25 hour/week job, and they use the rest of their new-found time for volunteer ministry.  Some of these tips work together - if you move into a smaller home close to your work, then you might save money on your house and car, then you could work fewer hours and use the extra time from less work and less commute to serve God in other ways!


That’s a good start. If you have more advice, share it. And don’t forget – outer simplicity can be dangerous without the appropriate inner heart condition.

Who are we occupying?

A week ago I visited the "Occupy Vancouver" protests, our local offshoot of "Occupy Wall Street". There was a mishmash of every cause you can imagine, which is typical of Vancouver protests. But despite the signs calling for 9/11 truth, a ban on psychoactive drugs for children, and the legalization of raw milk, there was a strong trend of dissatisfaction with the financial system, especially the "1%" at the top who are benefiting most. Though I stayed for some time, I didn't participate with the protests, mostly because I didn't see a coherent enough message to affirm that I agreed. But much of what they say is valid. Here are my main thoughts:

• That "1%" that everyone talks about do live in different reality. For example, most of us are still experiencing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. However, the number of millionaires increased to 10.9 million last year, the greatest number in history and almost 10% more than the 10.1 million millionaires we had before the recession hit. A third of those millionaires are in North America. The sales of luxury goods are projected to increase 13% this year, to their highest levels in history, with the USA the leading consumer. Meanwhile, unemployment is still over 8%, the number of uninsured Americans is at 50 million, and the average wage in America is the same as it was back in 1997.
• This situation is not sustainable. In fact, it is going to blow up in our faces if something significant doesn't change. There's a lot more I could say about that.
• Unfortunately, many of the protesters haven't realized that they are a part of the problem. How many of the 99% wanted to be as rich as the 1%? How many are greedy for more?  How many seek after material possessions? How many want to climb the corporate ladder? How many have used their credit cards for non-essentials they couldn't afford, bought homes with payments they couldn't make, or spent money on cars, accessories, entertainment, and other status symbols that they didn't need? As this Christianity Today article states, much of the blame lies in our own hearts and in our own decisions, and until those things change, it won't really matter what happens to the people at the top.
• Finally, who are the 1% anyway? American protesters have focused on the top "1%", which in America basically means the millionaires. But do those same protesters realize that globally, most of them are much closer to the top 1% than they are to most of the other 99%? The very rough figures on the Global Rich List show anyone earning over $48,000/year in the top 1% of income earners. Are you protesting as part of the masses, when you are really the top 1% or 5% or 10% that the rest of the world is looking at and judging? Americans use over 30% of the world's energy and mineral resources, despite being only 5% of the world's population. What do you think the rest of the world thinks about you?

I think the protesters have an important point about the disparity of wealth and lack of justice in our society. I also think all of us, including myself and everyone reading this blog, have to realize how much we contribute to it. A couple months ago one of my best friends commented that she wanted to see more practical advice from me on what kinds of steps all of us can take towards more justice and Christ-like equality in society. I think I'm going to start doing that this week, because I think there's a lot that all of us could be doing, and I'd like to be doing it more intentionally. The world knows there's a problem with how things are going, and I want them to be able to look at Christians and see that there is a different way.

About the “let him die?” video

Questioning at a recent Republican debate in Texas:






Under current health care law (instituted under Reagan), emergency rooms have to treat anyone who comes through their doors, regardless of whether they have insurance or not. If they don’t pay, the cost is passed on to those who do pay. Under the new health care law passed in 2010, everyone has to buy insurance (subsidized for those who can’t afford it) or pay a fine, thereby ensuring that everyone is fiscally responsible for their own medical care to the degree they are able, while still making sure that everyone can be treated.

In recent debates, it has become apparent that many Republicans and Libertarians, especially some of those failing under the “Tea Party” umbrella, would prefer a third option: that no one has to get any insurance ahead of time, and that anyone who doesn’t have insurance or cash when they need medical care is out of luck. In the moderator’s example from the debate, if such a person faces unpayable costs, some such participants think we should just “let him die”.

The way I understood this issue developed dramatically for me when I realized that the man in the moderator’s example isn’t the person we would “let die”. This man in the example has a high-paying job, which makes it likely that he has wealthy coworkers and wealthy friends. He likely has a network of family support and the same access to resources that the majority of privileged Americans have. If a life-or-death situation occurs, no one is going to “let him die” – someone is going to step up to help him get the care that he needs. Chances are that a change in the law will not drastically affect him.

So who will it affect?

The alien, the orphan, and the widow. The immigrant, the foster child, the single mother, and all others like them. The ones who are not only most likely to be poor, but least likely to have the social network to support them when unpayable expenses rear their head. When we say that we want everyone to pull their own weight, when we say that the government system for health care costs should be eliminated in favor of social and church networks, it is the widow, the orphan, and the alien who are going to be the hardest hit.

We need to think really, really seriously about what God has to say to us about that.

Who are the aliens, orphans, and widows in our midst?

When I hear “aliens, orphans, and widows”, my mind goes back to the Biblical era, or to non-Western nations in which orphanages are still prevalent or widows still can’t get their own source of income. But in the past two weeks I’ve realized that that historical displacement is unjustified.

In the United States, where are the orphans today? They are foster kids, those who grow up outside of the care of legally committed parents. Many of them spend their time in group homes or with unsympathetic families and are cast off at the age of 18 without any support network or stability. Some of them have moved from home to home and community to community so often that they don’t have any long-term relationships at all. What would it be like to be a young adult without a mother and father, aunts and uncles, or any long-term friends in your life? And that doesn’t even address the emotional, psychological, and educational problems that may have built up during their childhood and adolescence.

Who are the widows? They are single mothers who find all available energy taken up in playing both parental roles and having to be the family’s breadwinner besides. They lack the positive relational role a spouse could provide, the social connections the husband’s family could provide, and the social connections they could have developed in the free time they don’t have. Because of their family commitments they often lack college or high school education and can’t afford the time to get the additional work training they would need to advance at their jobs. And in the worst case scenarios, they are ostracized by churches, community organizations, or neighbors due to their marginalized status, or they self-ostracize because of the status they perceive themselves to have.

Who are the aliens? They are…the aliens, the immigrants, the refugees. They are the families who come alone to a new place because of war, persecution, or economic distress. They are the men who come alone, needing to find a job to support their families back home or fleeing situations back in their home countries that make a new land more appealing. Some of them are able to maintain long-distance relationships with friends and families in their home country; many others are in situations where such relationships are impossible. And so they have to make due in a new place, potentially with a new language, trying to navigate all the life obstacles that many of the rest of us have difficulty navigating, only they don’t have the entire framework of social support and cultural understandings that we build our lives upon.

God desires for us to direct our hearts to all those who are relationally vulnerable. A single mother doesn’t have to be an actual widow to warrent special concern in God’s eyes. Besides the foster kids, single mothers, and immigrants, there are millions of veterans, homeless persons, disabled persons, mentally ill persons, aboriginal peoples, and ethnically marginalized peoples that fit this description. Jesus is an advocate for all of us. But, as I tried to show in the last post, He is especially an advocate for those on the margins of society. We need to take this seriously, because God is calling us to advocate for the ones that the rest of society is ignoring, and if we fail to show mercy on them than God may pull back his mercy from us (Matthew 18:23-35).

The alien, the orphan, and the widow

In the Bible, God shows a particular concern for those that society is less concerned about. While there are many individual examples of such concern, the marginalized are often represented by three terms, “the alien, the orphan, and the widow”. For example:

When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. - Deuteronomy 24:19-21

When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. - Deuteronomy 26:12

The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked. – Psalm 146:9

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts. – Malachi 3:5

The special attention that must be paid to this trifecta is also mentioned in Exodus 22, Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 10, 14, 16, 24 (again), and 27; Psalm 94, Jeremiah 7 and 22, Ezekiel 22, and Zechariah 7; and at least one member of the group is also highlighted sympathetically in Leviticus 19, Isaiah 1 and 10, Job 22 and 24; Psalm 68, Matthew 23, Luke 12, Mark 20, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 5, and James 1. Of course, there are hundreds of other passages that would also apply to these persons in the context of the poor, the needy, the marginalized, or our neighbors, but do not mention them explicitly.

The explicit mentions of these three groups is interesting to me because of the nature of their need. It’s not like “the hungry”, or “the naked”, or “the homeless”, or “the imprisoned”, who are defined by what they lack physically (food, clothing, shelter, or freedom). Instead, these groups are named because of a relational vulnerability, which increases their likelihood to lack in other things as well. Because of this vulnerability, God is especially concerned with these groups, and He judges his people when they fail to show such concern as well.

Does this mean that God likes orphans, aliens, and widows more than the rest of us? I don’t believe so – I don’t think God is biased in that way, and I think He loves all of us intensely. But I heard a good analogy last week that put things into perspective for me.

Imagine that you have three children – ages 7, 8, and 9. One day, the 7-year-old comes home with a broken nose, and you find out that she was beaten up by bullies at school. What would you do if you found out that such bullying had been happening every week, and that no one at the school had been doing anything about it? Would you then go to the school to advocate on that child’s behalf? Would you go to much greater lengths than normal to make sure that child was safe? Would you tell your other two children that they needed to be on the lookout to stand up for their little sister and protect her from those who were hurting her?

All that extra effort and attention doesn’t mean that you love your 7-year-old more. You just recognize that she is getting hurt more than the others, and that she needs special concern due to her situation. Because the rest of the world has treated your 7-year-old with less concern, you treat her more concern, and you call on your other children to give her special concern as well. If they refuse to make the extra effort for her, you will have very choice words for them.

God is the same way.