Our Father and Baltimore

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.   Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in Baltimore, as it is in heaven.   

I saw former Georgia Bulldog tight-end, Benjamin Watson, being interviewed a couple of times on the news this weekend regarding the recent Baltimore uprisings.  He is a very impressive and thoughtful gentleman.  Here is an excerpt of what he posted on his Facebook page:

“We have major problems as a nation. Yesterday Ferguson burned. Tonight ‪‎Baltimore burns. Tomorrow it will be another city in our homeland. Watching the coverage I’m hearing yet another version of a nauseatingly familiar narrative. Violence by police reciprocated by violence by the community, reciprocated by violence by police reciprocated by…. It seems fruitless to continue to analyze, condemn, and respond to these dreadful episodes. ‘Frustration, anger, tension boiling over, upset and unfortunate’ are words we hear from Baltimore residents. When it comes to law enforcement, race, poverty, education, immigration we always talk about fixing ‘broken’ systems….After each situation the more I am convinced that the love of God for our fellow brothers and sisters who were created in His image, is our only hope for reconciliation. But the only way we can even see him that way is if God illuminates our view and changes our thought process…I see a brokenness that only Christ can give us the wisdom and power to mend.”

I must say, I fully agree with Benjamin, Christ is the answer, because He is the way to the Father.  Jesus put it this way, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him….The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me…”

It is also earthly fathers that hold the answer to Baltimore and many of our urban problems.  Many are claiming that the problem in our urban centers is poverty.  Poverty is not the problem.  A lack of earthly fathers living up to their obligations is the problem – poverty is the result.  A 2012 Heritage Organization Report titled, “Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty” had this to say about the role of fathers and the God-ordained institution of marriage: 

“Child poverty is an ongoing national concern, but few are aware that its principal cause is the absence of married fathers in the home. Marriage remains America’s strongest anti-poverty weapon, yet it continues to decline. As husbands disappear from the home, poverty and welfare dependence will increase, and children and parents will suffer as a result.”  

Additional findings indicate that the benefits of fathers and marriage are not just monetary.  “Children raised by married parents have substantially better life outcomes compared to similar children raised in single-parent homes.  When compared to children in intact married homes, children raised by single parents are more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems; be physically abused; smoke, drink, and use drugs; be aggressive; engage in violent, delinquent, and criminal behavior; have poor school performance; be expelled from school; and drop out of high school.  Many of these negative outcomes are associated with the higher poverty rates of single mothers. In many cases, however, the improvements in child well-being that are associated with marriage persist even after adjusting for differences in family income. This indicates that the father brings more to his home than just a paycheck.”

 

 Those looking for an explanation to poverty and its associated problems would be wise to understand the troubles associated with single-parenting.  When single-parent families are compared to intact married families, the children are, “More than twice as likely to be arrested for a juvenile crime; Twice as likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems; roughly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school; and a third more likely to drop out before completing high school.”    
 

Benjamin Watson is right.  For those who turn to Christ they can come to realize that God is, “A father to the fatherless.”