What Does It Take to Be Genuine?

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”  James 1:27

I can remember when I was young, Sunday afternoons were spent many times in visiting relatives and/or friends or having them visit in our home.  In the summertime we would have watermelon or make homemade ice cream in the backyard.  None of us had an electric ice cream freezer back then so we would take turns manually turning the crank, pouring in more ice and salt just waiting for that delicious, sweet and creamy dessert.  I can taste it now!  If you ate it too fast, you would get an “ice cream” headache.  The adults would sit around engaged in conversation while the children would play tag or hide and go seek.  I don’t remember my parents and our visitors discussing politics.  Of course, the nation had its share of political turmoil in those days, but it was nothing like it is today.  Most folks were just concerned about making a living and providing for their families and left the politics to the politicians.  There was no Twitter, Facebook, or internet, only an old black and white Philco television set in our living room.  There was no 24 hour a day news broadcast.

We also visited the shut-ins and those who were lonely.  There were no shopping centers open because we had what were known as “blue laws” that prohibited stores, except for gas stations, drug stores, and restaurants, from opening on Sunday.  People find that rather antiquated now but look what we have given up in exchange for a trip to the mall.  We no longer visit one another and spend quiet, peaceful afternoons enjoying one another’s company.  We don’t take Sunday drives out into the country anymore mostly because there is no country any longer and the price of gasoline keeps our vehicles in the driveway, carport, or garage.  Even if we do venture out, we face traffic, impatience, road rage, and spend money that we don’t have on things we don’t need.  Sunday has become the biggest shopping day of the week.  The most important thing that people have abandoned in large numbers is going to worship the Lord in the local churches.

James, one of Jesus’ half-brothers, must have seen this day coming, this day of “it’s all about me”.  He wrote that for one to claim to be a believer in God, he or she must walk the walk of one who is genuine and uncontaminated by the ways of the world.  His focus was on the care of widows and those without fathers in the home.  These two categories represent two of the most neglected groups of people in today’s society.  It’s tough for widows, particularly older widows, especially if they don’t have children or grandchildren nearby who are willing to spend time with them.  This also goes for widowers.  They also need companionship, someone to check on them periodically, drive them to the store, etc.  Boys and girls who are growing up in a home where the father is absent have a difficult time in this old world.  God designed the father to be the leader of his home, to set an example before his family of what it is like to care and provide for them.  Single moms do the best they can, but they, too, have a difficult life trying to financially support and nurture their children alone.  Children, for the most part, get their view of God from their fathers, but if he is not in the picture then the children can feel abandoned not only by their earthly father but also their heavenly Father.  If their fathers are present, but are judgmental, demanding, and lacking true compassion, this is how the children will likely view the Lord.  Anytime that someone comments about the trouble that is caused by fatherless homes, someone in the government denies that has anything to do with the problems of today’s youth, but they are so wrong.  Denial is not the way to fix the problem.

To be a true Christian, living like Christ, today’s verse states that one must keep himself, or herself, unspotted from the world.  There is much that could be written about the one who tries to live up to this admonition, but time and space do not permit a long discussion of the qualities of the man or woman who lives a life pleasing to the Lord.  Perhaps that is for another blog someday.  Briefly, I suppose we could say to follow the theme of a few years ago, “What would Jesus do?” and then do it, which brings us back to today’s verse.  If you know of a widow or a fatherless child, why not step out of your comfort zone and be a blessing to them?  Sometimes, in an effort to be a blessing to someone else, we end up being the one who is blessed.  Webster’s Dictionary defines “genuine” as really being what one claims to be; authentic, honest, and sincere.  If we were put on trial, would there be enough evidence to convict us of being a genuine Christian?