Feed the Hungry for Jesus’ Sake
November 18, 2008 by jimmymccarty
Look at the bellies on these kids...
According to
this article 691,000 children went hungry in America last year. According to
this article parents in Haiti (and many other countries) have to choose which child will starve to death because there is not enough food to feed their families. Something I am very passionate about, but have not mentioned much on this blog, is the situation in North Korea. In my opinion what has been happening there for decades, and what is happening in Zimbabwe now, are the worst human rights crises today and not many people seem to be paying attention. According to
this article the World Food Program needs to feed over 6 million people in North Korea. According to Paul Roberts, author of
The End of Food the American diet is part of the problem. Check out what
this article says:
Every time an American bites down on a steak or hamburger, they’re contributing to global hunger, Roberts says. As other countries become more affluent, they’re copying our meat-heavy diet. The problem: It takes so much grain and other resources to produce meat, he says.
“If the rest of the world were to eat like we do, the planet would collapse,” Roberts says.
Do you see the difference?
American’s are the most overweight country in the developed world. We also spend the most on exercise and weight loss than any other place in the world. We also have the most people who claim to be Christian than any developed nation in the world. There is something wrong with this picture. Jesus told us that anytime we feed the “least of these” we feed him. Well, Jesus is starving all over the world and we’re getting fat. Read Matthew 25 and then look at our lives. How do we measure up? In today’s world feeding the hungry includes monetary donations, more just public policy and lifestyle changes in the lives of the affluent. And yes, most of us are the affluent. If you don’t believe me punch in your income at the
Global Rich List. Now, in light of that, what do Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler to sell everything and give the money to the poor, or Zacchaeus to sell half his things and give the money to the poor have to say to us? Let us please, especially as Christians, feed the poor in every way we can. It’s our duty and mission from God.
(Please check out World Vision, CARE, Micah Challenge USA and Bread for the World for concrete ways to help. There are links to each of these organizations in my sidebar.)
Posted in America, American Christianity, American Culture, Bible, Christianity, Culture, Devotions, Discipleship, Jesus, Justice, Money, News, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Social Justice, Theology | Tagged Haiti, Hunger, North Korea | 4 Comments
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Jimmy I really hate it when you post something that points out so clearly my own sin. I read this and immediately thought… well I wont type what I thought since this is a public forum, but needless to say this hit me in the gut because I am guilty.
Now I struggle with what to do about it. Rachel and I give to the needy through several avenues and we do our best to live simply and frugally, but I know that we can always do more. I just want to know what that balance is. I mean how do we give of ourselves sacrificially without being legalistic about it and getting burnt out?
Anyway thanks for this post, especially for suggesting some good organizations. That is important for us to see actual places where we can help. I just added a few organizations like this to my blog as well.
you know it is very interesting. the more and more I read jesus, the more hardcore I realize he was. especially when I read matthew. when i first read matthew and the story of the rich ruler, i read it with the question, “Well what is Christ asking me to give up? what is the one thing I need to surrender?” but when i read the rest of what jesus teaches – he is way hardcore man. he’s an all or nothing guy. he’s a, “drop everything and follow me” type of guy. in fact, several months ago, i was reading matthew and i literally put down the bible and said to myself, “what he is asking is tough.”
but many bible teachers and preachers want to skip over the fact that jesus may have actually been asking us to sell everything. this is, in fact, consistent with early church teaching. they sold everything they owned and gave to everyone as they had need. this lifestyle makes sense with what christ was asking. i’m not making a theological statement here. just noting that we tend to gloss over what was said in the rich young man passage – assuming it isn’t to be taken literally. just asking a question.
but i do want to challenge the response by rogueminister. i’m not really sure how much of a balancing act we’re supposed to have. i believe there is a difference between giving in excess and giving sacrifically. it is very easy for us to give in excess. but i’m afraid we don’t learn anything about giving – because it doesn’t affect us. it doesn’t allow us to “suffer with” the people we are helping. but christ calls us to give sacrifically. to go above and beyond giving a few dollars from our discretionary income.
Andy, I wasnt very clear in my response. I meant my wife and I are trying to figure out what or how to best to sacrifice. For instance I am in grad school and there is a part of me that has considered dropping out because that would leave us with more money to give. Also we have a ton of debt because we both went to private universities. So do we try to put more money towards the debt to get it paid off first or do we just make the minimum payments and give more money to other causes now?
I guess what I mean by balance is fiscal responsibility, and I dont mean that in the typical American dream sort of way. We want to find the best way to use our money for the Kingdom and give sacrificially but also cheerfully.
Finally, some people live a life of guilt because there is always more that can be done somewhere in the world, but that is not good. We need to find how and where we should give and pour into that instead of spreading ourselves too thin.
I hope that is more clear. I dont think I said or implied that I only want people to give out of their excess though. My wife and I are learning daily how to sacrifice and live more simply and frugally. In fact she has a blog and has been teaching classes about saving money on groceries etc so that people can give more and we get a lot of things to donate that we otherwise wouldnt be able to afford.
All that to say, that giving sacrificially itself doesnt necessarily meaning giving like God wants you to give. Lots of people give a ton to televangelist ministries for instance and others sacrifice a lot but are being enablers to folks who need to be cut off.
We are trying to live sacrificially, but do so in a wise way that is thoughtful and also holistic.
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