Taking Care of Widows and Orphans

Elderly widows seminar

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1;27 (N.I.V)

The Bible recognizes the vulnerability and suffering of widows and orphans in many societies. Many suffer great poverty and alienation after they lose their husband or father. For many families, the man is the main breadwinner and when he dies the family has little in the way of resources to maintain their upkeep. Sometimes relatives also take off with their property claiming that only men have a right to inherit property. In a just society the poor and disenfranchised are taken care of. There are policies to ensure that every person has access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, education and health. The Bible places care of the needy as a major application of tithes. This is often neglected.

Our duty as Christians is to love our neighbors and look after those who are in distress so that they can feel enfolded by the love of Christ. Loneliness and despair can lend people open to many vices. Of course it is not all widows and orphans who are poor and miserable. Many have alternative means of support as recognized in 1Timothy 5:3-16. Some people misinterpret James 1: 27 as endorsing polygamy. In fact Paul allocated the main duty of looking after needy widows to other women in the family,” if any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.”

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We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

Mother Teresa

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