Luke 22:26 GNT But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.
To be great in Christianity is to serve. So we should all serve who are able. If you don’t know how to serve, here is a good way: 1) Work at your job ethically. 2) If you have enough to live on frugally, give excess money to help the poor.
If enough of us give to help the poor, eventually the poor won’t be starving to death! 2.3 million children starve to death each year, but this shouldn’t lead us into an empathic depression. Empathy is good, but only if it inspires you to work harder without a defeatist attitude.
There is enough resources in the world to feed all the people: Proverbs 13:23 GNT Unused fields could yield plenty of food for the poor, but unjust people keep them from being farmed.
And if you calculate the cost of solving world hunger, it is 10-100 billion a year. If the US cut 1/7th of its military budget, world hunger could be a thing of the past. The government isn’t going to solve this problem however, so lets focus on us as people solving it. I’m just putting this up there, that if a percentage of our taxes of just one country could solve world hunger: Certainly if enough of us got together and made this our reason for existing to donate money like it was our calling… Then World Hunger could be a thing of the past.
Don’t have a defeatist attitude. Sure, it isn’t fun to see pictures of starving kids. You don’t even have to listen to the speakers which talk about the horrors kids go through because their parents sold them into slavery so the kids have a chance at food. You don’t gotta listen to that if you’re busy making a difference yourself. Empathy is given to you by God. God has empathy too, and knows our pain.
If you help the poor, it is like helping Jesus figuratively and you ease his empathy too! Just as it eases your own empathy! If most everyone in the world had enough food, clean water, and basic medicine, I think I’d feel a lot better about living on this planet. Since they don’t, I can’t think of much else than trying to solve this problem.
If you can do anything, even just a little bit, it helps. When you first come to Christianity you go,”Ok, money isn’t as important as love.” But as you mature as a Christian you go,”Ok, since money isn’t as important as love, I should use my money to serve others and help them out in a loving sacrifice.” Jesus was the ultimate rolemodel of self sacrificial living. His entire life was servitude to help us live a life of love and service too. We should be self sacrificial in our attitude towards giving and helping the poor. You don’t necessarily need to tithe more, but it’d be good if you went out and did your research on how you an help the poor personally or through organizations.
Matthew 25:33 He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left. 34 Then the King will say to the people on his right, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, “When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, “I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’
God bless you,
Jim