Monday, October 31, 2005
something my sister said
"We live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. I read recently that to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the world it would take an addition annual investment of 19 billion dollars. And currently Europe and the US spend a grand total of 17 billion dollars a year on pet food, not to mention 18 billion on makeup!"
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6 comments:
it is truths like these that make me get angry. and i don't know what to do about it. anger isn't really the best single reaction, action should be.. awareness should certainly help. Are you getting the word out? Do people know better because of you? Add your 2c to solve the problem.
(oh and girls, maybe buy less make-up. heh. (c: ) go for that natural beauty thing, maybe. i dunno, that's a touchy subject.
The problem is that economics aren't that simple: you can't just give money and make hunger go away. It's been tried and it doesn't work. Do some research on the amount of aid given to Africa over the last thirty years or so. It's a staggeringly huge number, but it hasn't solved anything.
Donations are important in times of famine, to keep people alive, but developing economies and livelihoods for people with secure social systems and governments has to happen for long term success.
I agree with Bethany! I have another thought about what Luke wrote as well. The Bible says that the poor will always be with us, but it also says we are to help the poor. I think what God wants is for us to help the poor we find on our lives, personally. I have heard the statement "I love humanity, it's people I can't stand!" I think we have a similar mentality toward the poor, we tend to have compassion of the poor who are far away, and distain for those who are asking us for help right now. We hear about 'the poor' in the news and hear statments like the one Luke quoted (and the one about soft drinks) and feel guilty but it is a vague guilt, like an itch you can't scratch.
What person will actually go hungry because I have a dog or buy lipstick or drink a can of Coke? Most Americans can feed their dogs, buy lipstick, drink Coke AND give to charity, but do they? If they knew a family who had great needs because of genuine misfortune, would they actually cut back on buying things for themselves in order to help the poor family they know? God promises us real joy if we do this.
Living in a third world country, faced daily with needs far beyond anything we could begin to help with, we have to deal with our wealth and our responsibility, not in theory but in reality. Compassion and wisdom need to replace pity and resentment in my heart as I seek to be a channel for God's resources for His glory. We have learned that the most statisfying thing to do with money is not to spend it on ourselves, but to give it away and bless others. This does not mean we do not spend money on ourselves. We have dogs, we go out to eat and buy ice cream. We cannot solve the poverty problems in the Philippines or the world, but we can bless those the Lord sends to us for help with the wealth God has given us. God has been faithful to make sure we always have enough to give away as long as we give it away.
We could also stop spending millions of dollars per bomb we drop to kill people in the third world...hey at least we don't have to worry about feeding them then.
that was my husband, I'm far less sarcastic ;)
Sara and Husband, actually, the USA spends millions every year digging wells, building roads and implementing child survival and other critical medical programs against malaria and TB, here in the Philippines. I know they are doing the same in other third world countries, including Iraq and Afganistan. I realize most young Americans are pretty limited in their knowledge about what goes on in the rest of the world and what information they have is often anti-America propaganda. America has its problems but it is more kind and generous to the poor than any other nation in the world.
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