By Sharon Byrd

Are you the bully trying to beat up on the weaker vessel?

Hi. I am that weaker vessel. Before I made Jesus my Lord I had no father on earth or in heaven.

I dated all the wrong men and women (Hello!) because fatherlessness causes you to confuse gender roles.

I was never accountable to anyone. I always felt rejected and was taken advantage of because I was in a place of vulnerability.

I had no covering for my life. I was open to any and all attacks.

Maybe that’s you: the attacker. The tough guy or girl who picks on the fatherless, the widow, or the orphan.

Time to take warning, big tough guy (or girl), the Bible says these people have a Protector; a Bodyguard who will fight for them and (listen carefully) against you.

Proverbs 23:10-11 says, “Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you.”

This means two things. First: don’t move stuff that helps folks find their way. Like, for example: homosexuality is wrong (I Corinthians 6:9), and telling folks that this somehow has changed is removing an ancient boundary stone that God placed when He rained fire down on Sodom.

And, second: don’t encroach on the fatherless.

Now, you are probably thinking, “When was the last time I encroached on the fatherless?”

Okay, first let’s look at what the word encroach means. The Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says it all: encroach, v. Primarily, to catch as with a hook. Hence, 1. To enter on the rights and possession of another; to intrude; to take possession of what belongs to another by gradual advances into his limits or jurisdiction, and usurping a part of his rights or prerogatives; 2. To creep in on gradually without right; 3. To pass the proper bounds, and enter in on another's rights.

So, when was the last time you encroached, tough guy (or girl)?

How about the time you took my lunch money, or beat up my best friend because he didn’t have a dad to teach him how to fight, or took advantage of girls like me who didn’t have a dad to teach her not to date frogs?

(Note to girls: Kissing frogs does not make princes.)

You don’t have to be the wealthy landowner who pounces on the widow and the fatherless to know you are not dealing fairly.

Now, who is the fatherless? Again, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says it all: fatherless, adj. 1. Destitute of a living father; as a fatherless child; 2. Without a known author.

The Book of Deuteronomy has verses dealing with the treatment of the fatherless and shows the heart of God towards those who submit to Him.

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (10:18).

“Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge” (24:17).

“When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (24:19).

“Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow” (27:19).

Do you see yourself in any of these? Take warning, bully boy (or girl). Their Defender is strong.

Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality.

Children without fathers or with stepfathers that are extremely distant are less likely to have friends who think it's important to behave properly in school.

They exhibit more problems with behavior and in achieving goals. They confuse gender roles and have identity and rejection issues.

Sounds like most of our world today.

Fatherless children face difficulties that go way beyond you, bully boy (or girl). In short, we don’t need you picking on us.

Psalm 68:5 says, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”

Not only does God care for and defend me but after I surrendered my life to Him, He gave me a physical father in Herb Unruh to protect, to pray, and put a covering over me.

(Note to men who take children not their own under their wing: Thank you very much and you are very special guys!)

Now, as a Christian, I want to please both my fathers.

So take your warning and remember the next time you take that candy from a baby boy (or girl)… their Defender is strong, and He will take up their case against you.

And by the way, now I have a physical dad that could beat you up in prayer, too… if he wanted to.