By Isaac Asabor
It is not an exaggeration to say that God loves widows. The foregoing view cannot be farfetched as there is no book that mentioned about Widows more than the Bible. In fact very few books have being written about caring for widows but I must confess that I have for the umpteenth time taken aback by how much the Bible said about them. Whether one reads about Moses and the prophets, the Psalms and the Proverbs of Solomon, the four Gospels, or the book of Acts and the letters to the churches in the New Testament, such reader will not be able to read far without the subject of widows coming up. There are about eighty direct references to widows in the Scriptures. Why?
To answer the foregoing question, it is expedient to, in this context cite five scriptural injunctions that require Christians to always care for the widows.
James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world”. In the same vein, 1 Timothy 5:3-4 ESV instructed thus: “Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
Also in Deuteronomy 15:7-11 ESV, God commanded on how the widows should be cared for. He said, “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
In a similar vein, Exodus 22:22-23 ESV urged Christians, “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry”.
Lastly in Deuteronomy 24:17-21 ESV, God said, “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it cannot be wrong to guesstimate that the foregoing injunctions might have collectively inspired the philosophy behind the conception of the International Widows Day that is observed on June 23 every year to draw attention towards the voices of widows and highlight their problems. It is a United Nations (UN) ratified day of action to address the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in several countries of the world.
It would be recalled in this context that the first International Widows Day was observed in 2011. The day was established by The Loomba Foundation to raise awareness about the matter of widowhood. In fact, the day was formally adopted as International Widows Day by the United Nations on December 21, 2010.
To the United Nations, International Widows Day presents an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows. It is also about providing widows with information on access to a fair share of their inheritance, land, and productive resources; pensions and social protection that are not based on marital status alone, decent work and equal pay.
According to available statistics on the population of widows across the world, “There are an estimated 258 million widows around the world, and nearly one in ten live in extreme poverty”.
At this juncture, it is expedient to say that yesterday, being June 23, was International Widows day but there was no razzmatazz and buzzwords and emotional comments, particularly on social media platforms, to show that we still care for them. It was obvious that humanity has forgotten the widows as it was in the Hellenistic days.
For the sake of clarity, it is germane to say that Acts 6:1, NIV says, “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.” Interpretatively put, some of the widows were being left out of charitable giving, due to a low-level problem with supervision. Acts 6:2 confirms this interpretation where it says it is not wise for the apostles to turn away from their calling to “serve tables.” Their point is not that such service is beneath them, but that they need support in order to fulfill their spiritual calling.
Against the foregoing, it is expedient to ask, “How many of us always remember the widows by each passing day besides June 23 that has being fixed by the UN to care for the widows in our midst?
