For the Fatherless - Malachi 4:6

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”- Malachi 4:6

    Any clear thinking individual knows that children raised in single parent homes are more likely to suffer from social problems such as dropping out of high-school, teen pregnancy, alcohol or drug related problems, criminal behavior and/or suicide. As the research shows that the absentee fathers suffer from this epidemic as well (higher rates of drug and alcohol use, incarceration, etc.), the mothers of these children have their share of problems as well, but as is the case in the majority of circumstances the children live with the mother. So what of the children of these single-parent homes?
    “A study using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health explored the relationship between family structure and risk of violent acts in neighborhoods. The results revealed that if the number of fathers is low in a neighborhood, then there is an increase in acts of teen violence. The statistical data showed that a 1 percent increase in the proportion of single-parent families in a neighborhood is associated with a 3 percent increase in an adolescent’s level of violence. In other words, adolescents who live in neighborhoods with lower proportions of single-parent families and who report higher levels of family integration commit less violence.”
Source: Knoester, C., & Hayne, D. A. (2005). Community context, social integration into family, and youth violence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 767-780.
    As we watch the violence unfold in Baltimore, MD. We must wonder if God’s words to the Prophet are not coming back to haunt us. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.”
 - Malachi 4:1. Root nor branch; father nor son?
    Baltimore in flames? Children running amuck? Attacking and fighting with the police? Yes, the signs are all there. But what is law enforcement’s role in all of this? They are certainly responsible for their behavior; are they not? Are we then without answer? Are we now without recourse or remedy? Our Lord God would not leave us without either; but we must listen to His words to the Prophet - “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.” - Malachi 4:4. Clearly, God has expressed Himself with a clearness that is hard to undermine. “‘Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.’” - Malachi 3:7.
     We know what fuels the hatred and anger in these fatherless communities. We can only wonder that if the fathers of these young men were present in their lives would these children still be out on the streets causing mayhem? And what of the law enforcement agencies involved? Is there no reasonable way to police a society without the unexplained deaths of our citizens? Let us all pray that the children of these absent fathers and these men who absently father those children return to God as we must too. “Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.”