A Billion are Hungry—What Should We Do?
Written By: Mike Schrage
08/13/2009
I read recently that the number of people going hungry everyday has reached one billion for the first time in history. (Click for full story.) What is a billion of anything? One person put it this way – if you could feed a thousand people a day, 365 days a year, it would take you 2,740 YEARS to feed a billion hungry people! And that’s just to give them one meal! That is a huge number and a large problem! With over six billion people on the planet that means that one out of six is hungry today and tomorrow and next week and so on.
World leaders discussed spending 20 billion dollars in the next three years to confront the issue. However, they all agree that the ultimate goal is to get farmers in each country on their feet providing enough food. Until then, these people must be fed. But that is probably only a partial solution.
Ziden Nutt, in his blog the other day, discussed the challenging balance of meeting spiritual and physical needs and keeping them in balance. I think that is key to good global missions.
Another point to also consider, however, is that spiritual problems produce physical nightmares. Dictators, greedy government leaders, and capitalistic global policies all play a role in today’s starving masses. We should, and must, feed the hungry, but there will never be a shortage of hungry people in the world because Christ said, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.” (Matthew 26:11)
So let’s feed the hungry, but at the same time, let’s have a plan to transform nations by showing a spiritually more excellent way. That’s why the apostle Paul challenged readers in I Timothy 1: 1-3, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.” Prayer along with leadership training has always been a request missionaries and national church leaders have asked Good News Productions, International to help design for their needs.
Prayer and porridge both are needed to treat and transform our world’s needs – one person towards that billion at a time!
