"Abuse"

Why don’t you take it down a notch,

We tried to calm ‘em down,

On a parking lot was where they fought,

From a ways you heard the sound,

Of argument and curse words loud,

And threatenin’ and such,

He took a swing, beat everything,

She felt his violent touch.

A face plant on the pavement,

And not a pretty sight,

Cops on the way and let me say,

A bad time on that night.

The man they took in cuffs away,

The woman sat and cried,

And I thought how, both then and now,

That woman could have died.

And there have been so many,

Who didn’t make it through,

Some bully brute, she thought was cute,

Abused and killed her, too.

God help all the women,

Who’re struggling to get free,

From men who choose to deal abuse,

And help them all to see,

That there is help and healing,

From those who mean them harm,

Don’t you stay, just get away,

Then help sound the alarm,

That there are still some cowboys,

Who will your life defend,

Just let them know and they will show,

That bully’s time can end.

And, no, this is no idle threat,

Or words we offer cheap,

The Good Lord knows, His power goes,

To those who help the weak.

And, Lord, please bless the children,

Those who had to see,

What no child should, replace with good,

And help us all to be,

The ones who help the helpless,

Protect the least of these,

Step right in, confront the sin,

And then the Good Lord please.

“…deliver them from the grasp of evil people…” (Psalm 82:4, NLT)

God sees the hatefulness and murderous spirit of evil people. We should pray for them and seek to share God’s good news with them if possible. But we should also take seriously the multiple passages of scripture that call on God’s people to help those who are being abused by others. James talks about helping widows and orphans. Jesus spoke of ministering to the “least of these.” The Psalmist spoke of delivering the poor and helpless from the grasp of evil people. Can we help everyone? No. But are there people in our circle that we can help? Yes, if we ask the Lord to sensitize us to the opportunity and be willing to do something. God knows how this is supposed to happen and will give us direction. But only if we proactively seek to be part of the solution for those who suffer.

Lord, help us help those who are being abused by evil people, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Martin Grelle, used by permission. Thanks, Martin, and God bless you.