I started reading a book tonight called, “Ending Hunger Now” Well…its now 3am in the morning (which…a book has to be pretty good for me to stay up this late) and I just finished it. I really recommend this.
The book is filled with a lot of statistics and facts. Hard facts about hunger that I did not realize. I was going to flip through the pages I earmarked and highlighted so I could post some quotes, but there are just too many good things to chose from. I think that the authors are definitely stretching it with some of their ideas and conclusions, but the concept is great…that it is very possible to cut world hunger in half within the next decade.
I am so tempted to type out a bunch of horrific statistics right now…but we have heard them before. At some point in the book, one of the authors quoted an African woman who says, “Statistic are numbers without tears.”
Hunger is becoming a buzzword in our Christian culture. Caring about famine and disease in Africa, China, and India is becoming very popular. We quote the statistics and discuss global justice. Phrases like “human rights” and “global justice” are being tossed around in our vocabulary. However, ten, fifteen, twenty years from now, I wonder if there will be change? I wonder if our hearts and minds are really grasping this tragic world-crisis and if we are willing to meet this great need.
This book was written for churches to go through as a study and discussion guide. The title sums up the main idea of the book…there is enough food in the world to end hunger now. Accepting that fact really means a life-change for many Americans. If that is the truth, then something drastic has to change for the middle-class and wealthy American. We can’t blame it on God for allowing drought and famine and natural disasters. Famine only accounts for 3% of reasons why people are starving. We can only blame it our disobedience to God. On our sin.
I really want to resist the concept of caring about the poor for popularity and trend sake and really be moved with compassion and move in action toward helping the poor out of a deep obedience to God and a deep understanding of his heart and motives. I am so glad that human rights and global justice is something that the younger generations seem to be talking a lot about, but talk is not going to put food in the stomachs of the hungry. Only action and obedience to what God has commanded us to do will begin to reduce the population of the 850 million people who are going to bed with very empty stomachs.
One of the frustrations I had with this book is that it focuses mainly on policy change and little on how the church can really make a dent in reducing the number of the hungry. I would have liked to have read more practical ideas as to what the church can do as a body to reduce the large number of hungry, but at least it is a short/quick read that can get the community talking…I just hope the result of the talking leads to some sort of creative ideas and action.
What are your thoughts? Please comment… :)
Posts
