Until Every Person Is Fed
According to "The Borgen Project", approximately 842 million people globally suffer from hunger. This equates to approximately 12% of the global population. What does this mean and what can be done about this pervasive problem? First, we must define hunger.
According to the World Health Organization, the definition of hunger is, "an uncomfortable or painful sensation caused by insufficient energy from diet. Food deprivation; not eating enough calories."
Can you think of the most painful thing you’ve experienced? Now imagine feeling that way because of a lack of proper nutrition. Food sustains life, and I’m unsure which is worse; 800 million hungry people or billions of apathetic people. Hunger is not a superficial problem that only affects those in third-world countries. It affects those whom you pass on the sidewalk from the car to the coffeeshop, to those whom you pass on the way from your parking spot leaving the Sunday brunch spot after Sunday service. Those people are just as hungry as the poor starving people of the Congo that we desperately collect donations to feed once a year. Oh, are we so blind that we don’t see the double-standard of our missional hypocrisy?
The problem of world hunger ought to be eradicated along with every other injustice that we witness in this world!
Hunger is not something that should be affecting anyone among the world's population of 7.85 billion people with a global economy in the trillions of dollars. According to the World Health Organization, world hunger could be solved with the contribution of $30 billion a year. This is significantly less than the United States government spends on their defense budget annually. However, there are still people that die of starvation in the 21st century. This ought to change!
Call to Action
As you ponder the unjust problem that is global hunger, and as you prepare for Thanksgiving be sure to be thankful; but, also, mindful of how you can live the change, rather than talk about it be the change. One of the biggest changes that we must make first is in our heart and mind. If we tend to apathetically judge those in poverty, then helping in tangible ways can be seen as a waste because you are not serving and helping with the right mindset and attitude. However, when the mind considers the plight, then the heart is moved to sympathy fueled by love. Another option is to solve this global plague by vocally advocating for those too weak from hunger to protest for themselves. Other ways include actively advocating for the hungry. This takes place on the ground and there are many needs in hunger alleviation. Help out at a soup kitchen and love in action and deed, not just word by serving people food that will sustain them. Look for ways in which your church and community can help fight hunger. Most importantly, love the hungry for they are image bearers who are deserving of sustenance not just for their mortal bodies but also for the eternal souls.
“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”
