I recently read an article about the 15 richest people in the world. My first thought? They could end world hunger. Did a little research, as I am not the first to have that thought and found that a 2% annual donation from the world’s 3,000 billionaires could eliminate global hunger and malnutrition, according to various studies.
While I know that forced donations (taxes and tariffs or whatever you want to call them) aren’t a popular method it does show that we don’t live in a world that is lacking resources. We live in a world where there is excessive hoarding of wealth. All that is needed for humanity to flourish (at least on the physical side) already exists. We don’t need more programs. We need people who see their neighbors and who value of their neighbors. This world does not have a shortage in resources, it has a shortage in compassion.
Furthermore, there are some very generous deep pockets out there, but generosity is often tied to what the giver wants rather than what those who are vulnerable need. The question ought not be what do I want but rather what are the real needs in my community. We need to ask these questions as humans, as organizations, as churches, as governments, etc…
I guess what I am trying to say is this. Love your neighbor. See the vulnerable, not as people or situations to be fixed but as fellow people to be served. Offer hope with the help. Jesus did this all the time. Not only did He pass out real bread, but He also said, I am the bread of life. Not only did He heal the sick, but He is also I am the great physician.
Whenever I share thoughts like this, I get lectured that it would never work because donations given would be taken by the powerful before they ever reached the vulnerable. Those who claim this are correct, but this shouldn’t stop us from trying to eliminate hunger and alleviate hardship. Our doing good should not be dependent on how those who do evil might respond. We are responsible for us, not them. And hypothetical wrongdoing does not release us from very real needs.
“So, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” -James 4.17
These are my morning coffee thoughts…
Compassionate Engagement 