by Mark L. Russell

The Apostle Paul said that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). He’s right. But he also could have added that the lack of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

From my experience working with poor people in the US and abroad, people living in poverty are not all the same. This probably seems quite obvious. Regardless of what socio-economic class of people you look at in detail, you will see that there is a large variance between people. People are individuals. Some are good, kind, gentle people. Others not so much. This is also true with poor people.

Some people look at the poor with contempt holding them somewhat responsible for their condition. Others look at the poor with empathy, even pity, imagining that if they just had something extra, they would be on their way to great things. Given that there are more than 1 billion people in abject poverty, I’m sure both outlooks can find bona fide examples to prove their point.

Nevertheless, I know that all impoverished men and women, like me, are people who often make mistakes, do the wrong things, and treat others unlovingly. The poor, like the rest of us, are sinners. As a result, many in poverty look at their economic situation and make choices with tremendous negative effects on people near and dear to them, including their own children. These little ones may be abandoned, given over to the state, or sold to organized crime.

There are a broad range of reasons why children become orphans (for many illustrative examples, read Orphanology by Tony Merida and Rick Morton), but a lack of financial resources combined with fatherlessness (whether he is dead or absent) is a common one.

Abandonment due to fatherlessness and poverty

Recently, television talk show host Oprah Winfrey revealed that she had a half-sister that she never knew. As the story unfolded, it was revealed that Oprah and Patricia (the half-sister) had the same mother. Due to the financial strain of raising three children as a single mother in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she turned Patricia over to state care when she was an infant and never told anyone. Oprah’s mother said it was embarrassment that kept her from ever telling anyone. Her feelings of shame are certainly not unique among mothers who’ve made such difficult decisions.

The story is quite sensational considering Oprah herself had connected lost siblings together on her famous show for years. But behind the unique circumstances of the story was a familiar, revealing reason why there are so many orphans everywhere: There was no father and not enough money.

Around the world we see a common trend, fathers leaving mothers with the sole responsibility of raising their children. This is unfortunately quite prevalent in poorer parts of the world. It seems the challenge of caring and providing for multiple children is simply a burden too great for many men to bear.

As a church, we can do two things to reverse this cycle. First, we need to encourage fathers to live up to their responsibilities and care for their own children. (Why the mothers often feel shame at having to abandon their children and the fathers often don’t is something that will bother me forever!) The Bible is clear that fathers should love their wives and care for their children.

Second, we need to support economic programs devoted to women. Christian microfinance institutions like HOPE International, Opportunity International, and World Vision Micro are exemplary organizations that provide business loans to people in poverty, and particularly women. There are also organizations like WorldCrafts that work with small companies worldwide to provide fair-trade employment for impoverished women and men. These opportunities can enable women to rise above the inertia of poverty, which often prevents them from being able to provide for their own children.

Third, we need to fight against other root causes of fatherlessness beyond just abandonment. Some of these may be beyond the father’s control, such as disease, war, forced labor, and malnutrition. Others involve the father’s choices such as alcohol and drug abuse, and disease from sexual immorality. When the gospel is clearly presented to men and women, and the church engages these social crises with its resources, including its finances, then there will be fewer orphans.

Mark Russell is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. He is the author of The Missional Entrepreneur.

Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com, www.facebook.com/marklrussell, www.twitter.com/marklrussell.