Global Poverty

A simple Google search for “main causes of food insecurity” pulls up a list of some things that one might expect. Drought. Pests. Poverty. Climate change. Conflict. Corruption. And so on.

Most people are aware that many people around the world are hungry. We see non-profits raising awareness about hunger issues, hashtags about ending hunger, and celebrities fighting for causes.

If many of us took a minute to ask ourselves why people are hungry, I’m sure we could come up with some of the answers that Google gave us. All these answers are very true.

In March 2018 a bold decree was made by Oba Ewuare II, the traditional ruler of the kingdom of Benin (located in southern Nigeria). Oba Ewuare II was upset that his beloved kingdom had received negative international press regarding the high numbers of women and girls who are coerced into trafficking and sexual exploitation and “bound” to their traffickers through voodoo juju rituals, so he decreed that all victims of these rituals are free.

‘They treat us how they see us.’

Though born and raised in West Michigan, my career over the past six years has taken me to remote areas throughout Southeast Asia. In Cambodia and Myanmar I have seen firsthand how government corruption, especially related to deals to extract valuable natural resources, falls hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Negotiations at the COP23 climate change conference have been slow, but some progress has been made. The ACT Alliance, along with leadership from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), who together have combined constituencies of more than half a billion Christians worldwide, have been proactive throughout COP23 calling for action by governments on climate change.

“Sustainability” might be a modern term, but it’s an ancient value. Parents were reminding children to turn out the lights generations before Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. Elders have long taught youth not to take more than is needed, to live in harmony with one’s surroundings, to protect the soil from wind and water erosion, and to protect creatures so they can continue to reproduce.

In his comments on the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder,” John Calvin writes, “The purport of this commandment is that since the Lord has bound the whole human race by a kind of unity, the safety of all ought to be considered as entrusted to each.” As creatures made in God’s image, we are called to do whatever is required to “defend the life of our neighbor; to promote whatever tends to his tranquility, to be vigilant in warding off harm, and, when danger comes, to assist in removing it” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.8.39).

This is the first post in our Justice and the Reformed Confessions series. Subscribe here to make sure you don't miss a post. 

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Do you find working for justice overwhelming? Same. It’s overwhelming because there is no-one-size-fits-all formula that lays out best next steps. It’s overwhelming because it taps into a lot of emotion. It’s overwhelming because there is so much need for justice that we often don’t even know where to start. Pursuing justice can feel overwhelming because our world moves so quickly, but justice comes slowly.