Influencing the Powerful on Behalf of the Weak in the Name of Christ

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed" (Psalm 82:3).

A co-worker has been passing around a video tape of the Saddleback Civil Forum, the series of interviews by Saddleback Church's Rick Warren with presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. This week, Janet and I had the opportunity to view it.

Both candidates did fairly well in answering difficult questions. I liked the nature of the questions posed by Rick Warren. "Does evil exist? If so, do you believe it should be ignored, contained, or defeated? When should a baby's life receive legal protection? How do you define marriage? Whom would you not have nominated to sit on the Supreme Court?" Such questions are important. The answers reveal a person's values and approach to life.

However, I was most impressed near the end of each interview when Rick Warren mentioned that 148 million orphans in the world are needing parents today. Then he asked each candidate, "Will you commit to making it easier to adopt those children? Will your administration make it a priority to remove barriers to helping these children?" I loved that question! Finally, someone has brought the plight of the world's orphans to the attention of our national leaders. Of course, both candidates were predisposed to answering favorably. Senator Obama has made it a point to advocate for help against the AIDS crisis in Africa, where millions of children are AIDS orphans. Also, Senator McCain and his wife Cindy have adopted a daughter from Bangladesh. So both candidates committed to look into what they could do as president to help the orphans of the world to find families to protect and nurture them.

Rick Warren honored Christ by letting the leaders of our country know that Christians want to help the weak and needy orphans of the world. He has done a great thing, something that I have not heard about in the news coverage of the event, but something important to the lives of many people around the world. He has used his fame well in advocating on behalf of the weak and fatherless.