Our church is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. This does NOT mean that we are a tourist center (we lose more people than we get), but rather, we live in a very agriculturally based center. All sorts of food are grown on the shore, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and corn, to name a few.
A classmate of ours shared a story today that perfectly sets the scene for agricultural life here. She told us that the other day, she was looking out at a recently harvested tomato field and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising from it. She could tell that there were still perfectly ripe tomatoes left on the stakes, but never the less, they had put everything in the field on fire. This is a very common story on the shore. Each year, the harvesters pick the green tomatoes (they gas them red and then ship them easier than a truly ripe tomato) and then burn whatever's left to keep the market in check.
This goes to show that there are plenty of things that could be done very easily to help the hungry. It wouldn't cost anyone any money (well, maybe a little bit for paper) to petition to keep the fields from burning. It would actually save the plantation owner money becuase no money would be spent burning the fields. Some people might respond by saying that if extra tomatoes are left out for free, it will hurt the market. The way I see it, if you're willing to run out into a field and scavenger for a few tomatoes, then you probably deserve them or desperately need them. That, or you're just a crazy person.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
All the Hungry Children
We're back, and we're continuing our discussion about hunger. Today, we'll go more in-depth about the two scriptures we higlighted in our last post.
The first verse is pretty self-explanitory when you first look at it. Leviticus states that we should not harvest everything, but leave some extra food for the people who cannot afford it normally. This would actually be a very smart idea to try for a number of reasons. Firstly, most people today see people asking for money for food on the streets and refuse because they are unsure of what the beggars will actually buy, frankly, with good reason. However, if we leave food for them straight from the source, money is not an issue, and those who need food will get more of it. Also, it is well known that Americans are very, VERY, wasteful. Would it be of dire consequence for us to let go of a few crops for the needy? As for money, if we provide food directly from the source for the needy, then there would be less of a need to spend money on organizations giving out food. In the end, it would just be much simpler and easier to solve the problem of hunger from the place where the food is actually grown.
The verse from Deuteronomy deals with the question of "why." Why should we even care for those people on the streets, begging for OUR money and food? What could they ever do to repay us? In truth, these questions are the reasons people do not take part in activities to help the needy. Humans are selfish, and we care not for others, but only ourselves and our own pleasure. We over-indulge and waste without care, and if they think about caring, they eventually come to those questions of why and turn back to their old ways because they cannot find an answer. To us, the answer to these questions of why cannot be understood unless you know God. Why should we care for the needy? God does, but he cannot work except through us. We cannot show our love of God unless we show love to others. The verse from Deuteronomy states that we should love foreigners and the needy because we were once the same. The verse is not literal in the fact that we once lived in a different country, but rather that we were once foreign to God's love. We once did not know of his love, but he brought us in, and now it is our job to do the same. When we feed the hungry, we show God's love and bring more people to him. The more people that do God's work, the better the world can become. All good comes through God. All those people who just walk by the needy and ignore the hungry will not see their lives prosper. The only way that their lives can become better is if they show good and further the work that God does. Why should we help the needy? We should help them because they help us.
The first verse is pretty self-explanitory when you first look at it. Leviticus states that we should not harvest everything, but leave some extra food for the people who cannot afford it normally. This would actually be a very smart idea to try for a number of reasons. Firstly, most people today see people asking for money for food on the streets and refuse because they are unsure of what the beggars will actually buy, frankly, with good reason. However, if we leave food for them straight from the source, money is not an issue, and those who need food will get more of it. Also, it is well known that Americans are very, VERY, wasteful. Would it be of dire consequence for us to let go of a few crops for the needy? As for money, if we provide food directly from the source for the needy, then there would be less of a need to spend money on organizations giving out food. In the end, it would just be much simpler and easier to solve the problem of hunger from the place where the food is actually grown.
The verse from Deuteronomy deals with the question of "why." Why should we even care for those people on the streets, begging for OUR money and food? What could they ever do to repay us? In truth, these questions are the reasons people do not take part in activities to help the needy. Humans are selfish, and we care not for others, but only ourselves and our own pleasure. We over-indulge and waste without care, and if they think about caring, they eventually come to those questions of why and turn back to their old ways because they cannot find an answer. To us, the answer to these questions of why cannot be understood unless you know God. Why should we care for the needy? God does, but he cannot work except through us. We cannot show our love of God unless we show love to others. The verse from Deuteronomy states that we should love foreigners and the needy because we were once the same. The verse is not literal in the fact that we once lived in a different country, but rather that we were once foreign to God's love. We once did not know of his love, but he brought us in, and now it is our job to do the same. When we feed the hungry, we show God's love and bring more people to him. The more people that do God's work, the better the world can become. All good comes through God. All those people who just walk by the needy and ignore the hungry will not see their lives prosper. The only way that their lives can become better is if they show good and further the work that God does. Why should we help the needy? We should help them because they help us.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Hellooooooo World!
We are the Franktown Senior High Youth sunday school class! Our mission is to openly discuss world and social issues from a Biblical and teenage standpoint.
Our first topic of discussion will be hunger. It is a FACT that every 3.6 seconds, a person dies of hunger. It is a FACT that 75% of those people are children.
The Bible has many parables and verses that relate to hunger.
In Leviticus 23:22, it says that "when you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God."
In Deuteronomy 10:18-19, it further states that "he ensures that orphans and widows recieve justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt."
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