What appalls me even more, however, is the response of so many Americans who think S.N.A.P. OUGHT to be discontinued because it is not needed and is abused. I am quite sure many of these people think they are Christians. They forget that Jesus fed the hungry (Feeding of the 5000). I wonder if they would say that Jesus shouldn't have fed those people because one or two people ate twice, because it only encouraged those people to come back for more, etc. It is even possible that some of the disciples thought the same thing, or close to it. Maybe Judas, who thought Jesus needed to take on the Roman Empire and the Jewish establishment. "Jesus, you're wasting time with this miracle. You'd do better in Jerusalem where the action is. These people can go home and eat." Or maybe Matthew, the Tax Collector: "Jesus, this is not very cost effective. You are distributing scarce resources among people who will not appreciate it and who can do nothing for you." But Jesus went on doing the Will of the Father as expressed in the Book of Isiah:
Isaiah 58:6-10
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (NIV)
Jesus, unlike his disciples at times, knew what God required of Him (and of us as His followers). It is "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:, NIV)
Why, on earth do we never learn? Why do we still point fingers and oppress the poor and the suffering? Why all the trash talk about the poor and hungry being unworthy and cheaters? Those of us who call ourselves Christian need to learn what it really takes to follow Jesus. Faith is all well and good but not if it results in doing nothing in this world. Faith which separates us from the world God so loved is no faith at all. It is a cop out. We need to open our eyes and see the facts and let them convict us.
The FACT is that some 48 million Americans are subject to food insecurity each and every day. That is over 14% of Americans and includes some 16 million children. (2) More than 1:5 children are at risk for hunger. (3)
The facts go on and on. Nearly half of all children will receive S.N.A.P. benefits at some time before they turn 20. One in seven people in the US are enrolled in S.N.A.P.. One in seven Americans live below the poverty line (which is $22,000 for a family of four). More that 90% of S.N.A.P. benefits are used up by the 3rd week of the month (4).
"Low-income households already spend a greater share of their income on food. Food accounts for 16.4 percent of spending for households making less than $10,000 per year compared to the U.S. average of 12.7 percent." (5)
Many people go hungry or are at extreme risk in this, the richest country in the world, and there is no good reason for it. We should be able to feed everyone. And we could if there was the will. We need both the will and the way. Most of all, Americans who have enough to eat need to develop their compassion.
ENDNOTES
1. Marisa Schultz,"Food Stamps At Risk for 1.7 Million In Michigan." Detroit News, http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130713/METRO08/307130027/ , 13 July 2013.
2. Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 1A, Table 1B. Quoted from http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html).
3. Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 1B, Table 3), Ibid).
4. Quoted from http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html).
5. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006 Quoted from http://www.bread.org/hunger/us/facts.html).
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