The kid whose dad left him, the single mom and your housekeeper
Photo courtesy of thepoetisinmultiply |
"Look around you: Everything you see is God's—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that's you!—out of all the other peoples. That's where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he's the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn't play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing. |
Who are the fatherless today? It is the HIV orphan in Africa, it is the 40% of kids in America who went to bed last night without a dad, it is the girl in foster care in Santa Ana.
Who is the widow today? It is the single mom, working at Denny's because her husband couldn't take the heat and left. It is the woman whose husband died fighting in Iraq. It is the elderly childless woman whose husband of 40 years, died of Alzheimer's disease.
Who is the foreigner? It is the illegal immigrant who mows your lawn. It is the Ethiopian man who drove the taxi from the airport. It is the other woman who came with your normal housekeeper and helped wipe down the windows.
"Make sure foreigners and orphans get their just rights. Don't take the cloak of a widow as security for a loan. Don't ever forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there. I command you: Do what I'm telling you.
When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don't go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. When you shake the olives off your trees, don't go back over the branches and strip them bare—what's left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don't take every last grape—leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. Don't ever forget that you were a slave in Egypt. I command you: Do what I'm telling you."
Deut. 24:17-22
I'm not sure how to leave a sheaf behind in today's world. But for now I have two Trader Joe's gift cards in my wallet that I am going to give to the right person.
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