Saturday, December 31, 2011

Pay Attention To Hurting Children

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close. -- Psalm 27:10

It’s hard to hear the news reports of children missing. It’s harder to hear the reports of bodies found and then realizing that someone close to the child is guilty of something horrible. But the hardest by far is when a parent abuses or murders a child. That hits us deep in our hearts.

It just seems unnatural for a parent to hurt a child. Oh, I’m not talking about hurt feelings or a time out. You know that. I’m talking about real pain, whether it’s physical or emotional. Parents are supposed to love their children no matter what so how can a parent not love his/her child?

Yet it happens every moment of every day. We only hear about the horrific cases on the news reports. We might know of a situation where children were taken from their parents due to abuse or neglect. But what about the children who remain with parents who abuse or mistreat them. Do you see them? Do you hear their cries? Because chances are they are in families that, from the outside at least, look exactly like yours.

That’s what we don’t want to see. We want to believe that abuse only happens on the other side of town. We don’t want to think it happens to people we know. We make excuses. We shake it off, certain that we didn’t see or hear what we thought we saw and heard.

So what happens when you suspect abuse? Do you call the authorities? Do you tell someone at their school? Do you ignore it? Do you reassure yourself that you’re overreacting? Do you turn a hurting child away because you’re convinced that intervention would only make it worse?

I’m glad we have laws now that require abuse be reported. They need to be stricter. Maybe we’re moving toward that. We are so busy not getting into other people’s business that we fail to do what is right, what is just, what is moral.

We talk sometimes about how it takes a village to raise a child. You’re part of that village. So am I. We don’t get a pass to look the other way.

I’m not suggesting you put yourself in an unsafe situation. Sometimes the best thing you can do is call the police or child welfare and let their trained professionals handle the situation. Sometimes being a safe haven for a child is the best solution, especially if your children are the same age. But don’t just do nothing.

There are hurting children all around us. Pay attention. Child abuse isn’t okay under any circumstances. Take action to stop it when you see or even suspect it’s happening. Do what’s right, what is just, what is moral.