Food Lines

I was engaged in one of my favorite practices - watching Christian television and shouting angrily at the stupidity of some of the preachers and shows. It drives Ingrid crazy! Many of these shows seem to be more about giving money to their shows - "sowing seeds" they call it - than about actually sharing the gospel or doing good in the world. One of the shows I was watching often ends with an appeal to help their relief work in Africa. They show lines of children waiting for their food and then appeal to those watching to become partners in their effort. It is a pretty standard and effective appeal.

While watching this I was struck by a saddening and angering thought. Here were children of all ages, toddlers to teenagers, standing in line waiting for food. They had little by means of clothes, some barely had clothing covering their nakedness. Most had no shoes. They were standing in line holding out used plastic or metal bowls hoping to get a handful of maize meal (like corn or grits). They were getting this food from old beaten pots in open roof kitchens or just outdoor fires. For some this would be the only food they would get. And here's the sadness and anger - this was being shown as a relief operation working successfully because these children were getting fed.

Why do we think so small? Why do we look at the enormity of need and settle for things so basic and so tiny as to be almost inconsequential? Yes, for those being fed it meant life instead of death, but what sort of life - hardship, suffering, nakedness, disease and poverty! Instead of settling for just feeding, why don't we get the best minds, alongside those with the capacity to give large amounts of money and solve this massive problem? This is not a criticism of this show. It is a criticism of our small thinking that just feeding children is acceptable relief work. How can we think that we are doing good by providing one meal a day for naked, starving and hurting children and then throw more food away from our own plates at home. Even more than just that problem, why should children in Africa (or any location for that matter) not receive all the possibilities that life has for them. Why should they grow up with nakedness, pain, suffering, starvation, lack of education, and no opportunity to improve their station? This should not be! Children of all races, in all locations should have equal opportunity to improve their lives. And for those critics that would like to remind us all that Africa is filled with corruption and evil and theft - let me remind you that Africa (and other third world regions) were systematically raped and plundered by conquering nations. This problem is not the result of recent evil men and women, it is the result of generations of oppression and domination. And the critics who would cite sin and God's judgment on these nations as a reason for their suffering (the same critics would say that America is blessed by God because of it's godliness) do not understand the true nature of the evil that was inflicted on Africa by colonization, slavery and oppression. The progress of the first world is directly the result of oppressing the third world.

So how can we fix it? I don't know, but I think it needs to be more than just food. There needs to be a concerted effort to bring resources, education, training, and opportunity to these third world countries and allow the intelligence and capacity of the great minds of third world people to blossom and grow. Even the most intelligent person in the world would find it hard to think when dying of thirst and hunger. Even the most intelligent person in the world would find it hard to write and read if they don't have paper or books. Even the most intelligent person in the world if fed would find it hard to work if there are no opportunities to work.

So, how do we fix it? Let's start by getting as many people together as we can to brainstorm, discuss, plan and then act to make difference beyond more than just food. Do you want to join me? Email me at info@hammerchisel.com to get involved!