Numbed by the Numbers

Please consider the following:

• Every year 15 million children die of hunger.


• The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed, one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.


• Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - live on less than $1 per day.


• 3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day.


• One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.


• To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year. (Just for a bit of perspective, the U.S. government has dolled out over $100 billion to struggling insurance company AIG, to keep them afloat after their risky investments went bad).

How does a believer deal with such numbers? How does a Christ-follower born into American affluence properly put these statistics into perspective? Where is God in all this suffering and injustice? These are weighty questions that are not easy to answer.

My mind immediately races to Matthew chapter 5, where our Lord basically says that those who will be ultimately blessed are not necessarily hanging at the country club. Christ said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Our Lord has a clear message. Things are not always as they seem. Those who live in luxury and ease in this life will most likely not be truly blessed. Christ taught very plainly that the trappings of wealth and comfort are very ensnaring. This makes it easily understandable why the Church in more "impoverished" parts of the world are thriving while the American church is dying on the vine. We have thumbed our nose at God because all of His great blessings have convinced us that we do not need Him. How terribly tragic.

May we take very seriously Christ's admonition to us to care for the poor. In Matthew 25 Jesus speaks very clearly again about His followers responsibility to care for those less fortunate: "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

In this matter, I have more questions than answers. I pray that the Lord will reveal His heart to each of us as to how we should respond. May we seek to honor Him in all that we do and serve His people with each bit of our time, talent and treasure. May He bless you and yours today!