[ Food for Thought ]

The Give and Take of Life

Dr. George H. Hepworth aptly said in a sermon that there is too much of self in the world. Our hands are stretched out to take, not to give. We plan for personal gain, are forgetful of the wants of others, build a moat about ourselves, and keep the drawbridge up lest someone may cross to ask for help. All that is like poison to the soul. It causes us to wilt, as a flower that is not fed with water. We become like a field of grain after a long drought, for the very life is parched. And yet nothing could be so unwise as to imagine that the great happiness of life could come from sucking up like a sponge things which we never give out. It is not what we get from the world but what we give to the world that marks our grade of humanity and dictates the real blessing and happiness of living. The Scripture was never truer than in these words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

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 Call to Action

“Poverty is not to be suffered in silence by the poor. Nor can it be tolerated by those with the power the to change it. The challenge is now to mobilize action - state by state, organization by organization, individual by individual.”

James Gustave Speth, UNDP

“I am only one,

But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,

But still I can do something;

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909)

“World poverty is a hundred million mothers weeping …because they cannot feed their children.”

- Ronald J. Sider

As a chef, I have always felt out of touch with the real devastations of those living in hunger. I am very empathic – I just feel sheltered. The abundance of food surrounds me. Daily people arrive in my restaurant eager to pay top dollar to eat our creative morsels. Because of this sheltered state, I have tried, at times, to learn to break out of my sanctuary and walk the streets where hunger is a reality. The day-to-day routines that fill my life tend to squeeze out those times of service. Yet, my heart wants to do something. I have to do something. I have to do this to stay in touch with the reality that 800 million people, in developing countries alone, go hungry each year. That means the devastation of hunger is no longer half a planet away, it is around the corner – it is your neighbor and mine. I am sure many Americans feel the same as I do.

According to Bread for the World, a ministry to fight hunger both on a domestic and global level:

• In the United States , 12 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.

• Thirty-one million people live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents one in ten households in the United States (10.2 percent). USDA

• Nearly four percent of U.S. households experience hunger: They frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day. Nine million people, including more than 3.2 million children, live in these homes. USDA

• Six percent of U.S. households are at risk of hunger: They have lower quality diets or must resort to seeking emergency food because they cannot always afford the food they need. Nearly twenty-two million people, including more than 9.1 million children, live in these homes. USDA

• The facts about world hunger are so staggering that I find myself at a loss of what I can do or how I can make an impact to such a large problem. I believe many people feel the same way. It is like being a grain of sand in an hourglass – only time is running out and the problem keep elevating.

• I know God is giving us an opportunity to reduce human suffering dramatically. We can overcome hunger if we all work together and do our part. It does not matter how small it might seem to be – to the hungry a bowl of rice can be the difference between life and death. We have all seen the sobering faces of little African children, starving of malnutrition, as we surfed the channels on television, and some of us have even stopped suffering and listened to the heart aching stories of how a donation of a dollar a day can not only feed a starving family but give them clothing and education. Well the truth is… it does! In the five minutes it will take you to read this chapter, 65 children will have died in the world's poorest countries. Some of the statistics about the state of the world are overwhelming and sobering: [i]

• More than 800 million people go hungry in developing countries alone - not because of sudden crisis or drought, but as part of every-day life.

• The richest 20 per cent of the world's people eat eleven times as much meat and seven times as much fish as the poorest 20 percent.

• The United Nations Development Program estimates that the basic health and nutrition needs of the world's poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. Animal lovers in the United States and Europe spend more than that on pet food each year.

• Almost 800 million people—about one-sixth of the population of the world's developing nations—are malnourished. 200 million of them are children. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

• Each day in the developing world, 30,500 children die from preventable diseases such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, or malaria. Malnutrition is associated with over half of those deaths. (UNICEF, World Health Organization)

• In the last 50 years, almost 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation, according to the report. That's three times the number of people killed in all wars fought in the entire 20th century.

• In October 1999, world population reached 6 billion, an increase of a billion people in just 12 years from 1987. Global population has quadrupled this last century, growing faster than at any time in previous history.

• At the beginning of the 20th century, world population was about 1.5 billion. In 1927, it reached 2 billion; in 1960, 3 billion; and in 1974, 4 billion. Nearly one-half of all people on earth will be under 25 (when). Today, people live longer and healthier than ever.

• Since 1950, average life expectancy has risen from 46 to 66 years. However, there are still a billion people - one person in six - living in poverty.

• Although the population growth rate is slowing due to falling birth rates, the absolute annual increase is still near its historic high of 86 million a decade ago.

• More than 95 percent of growth is in developing countries, with the fastest growth in sub-Saharan Africa where the average woman has 5.5 children - and parts of South and Western Asia . Population growth has slowed or stopped in Europe, North America, and Japan .

• The United States is the only industrial country with a growing population, largely due to immigration.

• Among the very poor, nutritional deficiencies are handed down from generation to generation like a hereditary disease.

• About one in every five babies in developing countries starts life at less than 5 lbs largely because the mother was poorly nourished.

• Almost four out of every 10, under-five-year-olds, in poor communities have stunted growth and reduced learning capacity.

• One-fifth of the world's population survives on $1 a day.

• More than 50 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

• Seven million children die each year because the poorest countries spend more money on debt than on health or education.

• Forty million people die each year from hunger alone.

Extreme poverty exists when a person is denied the opportunity to lead a long, healthy, and productive life. Extreme poverty is about a lack of opportunities. People living in extreme poverty cannot achieve their full potential because they lack things that most of us take for granted. These include safe child delivery, vaccination, health care, a caring family, education, and the ability to find a good job. A starving family has a hard time hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ because all he can hear is the pains of malnutrition.

To be successful in winning the war against poverty we must address the roots of poverty, and not immediate needs. A person who suffers from chronic disease, such as diarrhea from unclean water, cannot reach his or her potential. Nor can a young girl who is unable to go to school because of chores, or who attends a school where the teacher shows up only twice a week, and there are no textbooks.

No one wants to be sick, poor, or uneducated. The problem lies not with the poor themselves, but with their lack of opportunities. In many poor communities, schools are overcrowded and teachers are under-qualified or even illiterate. If children in these schools are not learning, their parents might pull them out of school to work instead, drastically reducing their opportunities later in life. In doing so, they are likely reproducing the cycle of poverty for at least another generation.

What Can We Do As Christians?

The church needs to understand that governmental agencies and private organizations are limited in what they can do. Politics and red tape often get in the way for these organizations to contribute at their potential. Christian organizations and missionaries can be far more effective in reaching the hungry and poor of the world. The United States has limited diplomatic relationships in countries like Ethiopia . Much of the government funds used for aid has ended up in the hands of corrupt government officials to buy weapons and such.

Home-based programs through missionary organizations can be more effective since it alleviates diplomatic red tape. We need to take our lead from the scriptures. In the book of Acts, chapter six, the first program the early church set up was a food distribution center to take care of the poor in the city. The Bible talks about the compassionate distribution of food and other resources in passages such as 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 9 . The New Testament church gave to other Christians who were in need. Here are a few things you can do to help with this issue

• Start a hunger awareness program at your church offering educational opportunities for each age group.

• Start a hunger adoption program at your local church supporting individual children through a recognized hunger relief ministry. Post their pictures in a hallway or in Sunday school classrooms to place a face with the support.

• Set up a “Feed a Bunch Brunch” and take it to the homeless in your community.

• Start a food bank or food pantry at your local church.

• Inform the welfare office in your community that your church has food available for needy families.

• Get a group together at your local church, rent a hall or banquet space, and treat the needy in your community to a holiday dinner.

• Call one of the numerous resources listed in the appendices of this book and ask them what you or your church can do to help.

• Get involved – anything you do can help, no matter how small it might seem. Brainstorm with members of your local church and come up with your own list on how you can meet the specific need within your community.

• Stir up hearts of compassion within your church by educating the congregation of the facts about hunger.

• Start a hunger relief missionary program in your church.

• Network with other churches in your community and start a group effort to help the hungry.

Many of the problems of poverty and hunger are not only economic but also psychological and spiritual. These include such things as poor training or wrongful attitudes, or false religions imposing destructive religious mandates on its citizens. Preaching the gospel can change not only individuals but also a culture. Just think of the impact the Hindu worldview has on countries like India . False religious beliefs keep the Indians from utilizing beef and chicken, an important source of protein. Other ideas such as the concept of karma keep Indians from meeting the needs of the underclass. Conversion to Christianity can change not only individual lives but also a culture that rests on a false foundation.

As Christians, we need to be praying and working to provide solutions to the awesome problem of feeding the world. Please join me and ask the Lord what you can do. In the appendices of this book, there are several resources to help you get started. Please take a stand and help stop world hunger in our lifetime.

If you would like to help us put an end to hunger in our lifetime, please contact us at ministry@iacfc.org  We have also compiled a complete list, at our menu on the left, of other agencies that work to end poverty and hunger. We want to thank all those agencies, educational institutions, and ministries for their undying efforts in helping the poor on planet earth and encourage your support to those ministries. Pray for what you can do - as the Lord directs.

[Help]

Needless Self-Indulgence

Our lives are often enervated by needless self-indulgence. Rev. Hugh Price Hughes tells a very interesting story, and makes a very sane comment on it in illustration. During a visit to Palestine, at one point, when he happened to be riding in the carriage, he had a striking experience. “It was very hot, the sky was cloudless, the road was hard and white. Suddenly a Syrian, staff in hand, passed the carriage. Instantly I thought: ‘There, that poor man, with flowing robe and turbaned head and sandaled feet, is dressed just as my Lord was dressed two thousand years ago. When he came up, as he did come up, again and again, from Jericho to Jerusalem, he had to trudge through the heat on foot, as that poor fellow is trudging. And here I am—professedly a disciple of his—riding up this hill with a carriage and pair of horses. How dare I ride where my Lord walked?’” He felt it so much that he stopped the driver, got out, and walked the rest of the way to Bethany. Commenting upon his action, Mr. Hughes says: “That sudden impression was neither Scriptural nor rational. There is nothing in Christianity that should lead any of us to decline the conveniences of life, provided always that we use for the good of men any energy we conserve. But there was this point of truth in the emotion which filled my heart. We do exceedingly need greater simplicity of life among all who name the name of Christ. We are too self-indulgent and luxurious in these days.”