Nov

17

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 1

Filed Under Inspiration, Reading Room 

“The rich must live more simply so that the poor may simply live.” —Dr. Charles Birch

It’s no secret for the past few years I have been re-thinking and re-learning what life is all about when it comes to stewarding my resources. From what I get paid and how I live, to how I spend my time and what I give, my worldview has been messed up. In a good way.

Two years ago Jamaica and I downsized to a smaller living space in downtown Los Angeles, four blocks from Skid Row. Earlier this year we became a one-car family. Every year for the past three years we have decreased our spending and increased our giving. Reading books like Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus Wants to Save Christians and Strength to Love haven’t helped much either.

The latest book to make me want to hide in a cave or move to another country and rot to death, is Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider. It’s a 30-year-old book (with a new edition) that has sold over 400,000 copies. Its 270 pages are a real struggle to get through both for the overwhelming nature of the problem and the sheer amount of data to digest. This ain’t bedtime or beach reading.

I think the biggest statistical takeaway for me was learning that the global hunger problem could be solved solely by the amount of money we in the U.S. spend each year on weight loss. How ironic. Writes Sider, “The National Center for Health Statistics reported that people in the United States spend between $30 and $50 billion each year on diets and related expenditures to reduce their calorie intake.” So while two billion people try to increase their calorie intake every day to survive, here in the U.S. we spend billions trying to reduce our calorie intake for our thighs.

So how did those of us in the developed world get to this state of ridiculous indulgence? Sider points to the Enlightenment.

Theologian Patrick Kearns has argued that commitment to unlimited growth and an ever-increasing “standard of living” is really a sellout to the Enlightenment. During the eighteenth century, many Western thinkers decided that science was the only way to find knowledge. This thinking elevated all things quantitative and devalued all things nonquantitative. Thus intangible values such as community, trust, friendship, and the beauty of creation became less important. It is hard to measure the value of friendship, unspoiled nature, and justice. But Gross National Income (GNI) is easy to measure. The result is our competitive growth economy where economic success and material things are all-important to many people.

Regardless of the reason we’re in this period of huge disparity between the haves and the have nots, we all have some work to do. According to Sider, “Most of the poor want to earn their own way. They have enormous social capital: intact families, a desire to work, pride, and integrity. But they need some help.”

More tomorrow.

Comments

One Response to “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Part 1”

  1. Chris Marlow on November 17th, 2008 11:48 am

    I need to read that book. I”m starting an org called - http://www.helpendlocalpoverty.com

    The response I get from fellow Christ-followers are amazing.

    I don’t think we understand how huge of an impact we can make.

    Thanks for sharing.

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