About a century ago, much of the Church quietly swallowed an idolatrous idea: that the government could do a better job caring for orphans, and that such care was ultimately “their” responsibility, not ours.
In the Western world, Christians stepped back from nearly two millennia of active, sacrificial involvement in orphan care, foster care, and adoption. We gradually retreated from a ministry that had always been close to the heart of God and central to the witness of the early Church. In doing so, we allowed—perhaps even insisted—that the state move into the space we so readily abandoned.
In our glad but misguided relief, we surrendered holy ground to a secular institution that is not ultimately responsible, not spiritually equipped, and, more importantly, neither appointed nor anointed to carry out this sacred task. Governments can create systems, write regulations, and allocate funds, but they cannot embody the covenant love, spiritual formation, and gospel-centered community that vulnerable children most deeply need.
Orphan care has always been a core calling of the people of God, not a side project for charitable agencies or a line item in a government budget. When the Church yields that calling to the state, it does more than outsource a social service; it abandons a vital part of its witness to the character of God, Father to the fatherless and defender of the vulnerable.
It is time for the Church to repent of this idolatrous dependence on government, reclaim its God-given mandate, and re-enter the orphan care space with humility, courage, and renewed obedience.
