A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5

There are four groups of people that the Lord has a special “eye” on: fatherless/orphans, widows, the poor, and the alien in the land. We would do well in our communities and nation if we took special care to watch over these groups. Unfortunately, the government has taken on the role because we have relinquished the responsibility (whether it was taken from us “by force” is a different discussion). The point remains, we need to take special effort to see that these four groups are looked after.

• Yes, of course the government has handed out money and services and food stamps to the poor, but we too should be familiar with the local shelter and food bank.
• The government takes in abused and abandoned kids in cold, institutionalized group homes, but we have the opportunities to be Big Brother/Big Sister type figures to these kids. A house parent will never be a substitute for caring families.
• With respect to widows, nursing homes should have waiting lists of Christians who want to visit those who have no visitors, but they don’t.
• Forget for a moment the current “amnesty” debate. The “alien” who needs to learn English or needs help with shopping shouldn’t be relying on local bureaucrats to help them; we should be knocking on their door.

Any time we bless individuals and families within these four groups we are blessing God. Why? Because God has always been about helping the downtrodden and vulnerable.