God’s Fencepost: Our Children

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa

Within the span of a mere week we have borne witness to yet another child being murdered without closure or consequence; we have seen an airline refuse to sell first-class tickets to infants and toddlers; we have seen an 11-year old child locked in a dog kennel and found dead after YEARS of clearance by child protective services – all while the number of children who are sold into slavery and/or who are starving to death continues to skyrocket.

Patrick McDonald, founder of Viva Network once said, “Why is it that a child’s death amounts to a tragedy, but the death of millions is merely a statistic?”   Why?  Because our society is slowly chipping away at the value of our children.  When a child can make our clothing in a sweatshop in China, be sold as a sex slave in California, tried as an adult in Arizona and yelled at by a complete stranger for crying in the grocery store – they are all devalued.


“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss

We are all children of God, which makes each and every glorious one of us part of His family.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of our entire village to raise, be patient with, be examples for, educate, protect and provide for every single child on our planet.  In His eyes there is no difference between nationality, color, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, economic status and/or age – He loves each one of us with such intensity, mercy and abandon.  What an amazing world it would be indeed, if we were to all follow suit!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”   Meaning that Jesus held children in such high esteem that he encouraged us to uplift our young, as it is those with such purity of soul to which heaven truly belongs.

Call To Action:


Many of you can’t/don’t go to church, temple or mosque, and even if you do, let us collectively join forces here by praying/meditating on the plight of our children worldwide.  Let us hope that some day every child will be able to experience a true childhood, complete with a full belly and a sense of belonging.  Pray for the children we know, the ones we don’t and the workers serving on the front lines in the war against our young.


“God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.”  - Bono

Also, if you would like to tithe/donate – please find a most worthy cause in Respire Haiti.


God’s Fencepost is a weekly meditation/devotional that deals with morality and current events.  I, Shannon Ivey, am an openly flawed human being who simply pens what I perceive to be the important reflections of God’s mercy, creativity and unconditional love.  My mother always said that God can use something as simple as a fencepost as a mouth-piece, so that’s what my column humbly aims to be. . . “God’s Fencepost.”