Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2-3
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:16
A few months ago, while waiting to pick up my daughter from a late night school event, I watched a movie called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Set in Malawi in the early 2000's, the movie chronicles the hardships a family experienced during a time of famine.
I couldn't help but think of how most Americans would never be able to understand the depth of the hunger pangs felt by families in the movie. The kind of pain that causes a person to steal and destroy. The kind of suffering that that makes a person forget all they ever learned from parents, church, and community about how to treat others. The aching that brings out our animal nature.
Real hunger is something most Americans never experience. When their stomachs grumble a little bit, they say, "I'm starving! I really need something to eat NOW!" Honestly, we have no idea what hunger really is, and we've never been close to starving.
Many of my African brothers and sisters, on the other hand, understand all too well. They have felt it. They have lived it. It is, for them as much a part of living as the air we breathe.
All Christians are called to help those in need, and not understanding a person's trial is no excuse for ignoring it. It is not something we are asked to do, it is something we are required to do. You see, those going through a trial are called to endure it with joy, and those who see others going through a trial are called to walk with them, helping them to survive and thrive. It is a beautiful plan laid out by a compassionate, ever present God, to help us overcome the trials of this life (Psalm 46:1).
There are rarely easy answers to the trials we face. The problem of hunger won't end tomorrow or next month or next year. Instead, the question becomes, "How do we walk with those who hunger, even when we cannot truly understand what they are going through?" My desire is to reach out with empathy and compassion, as we have been commanded, and also with creativity to help people out of poverty and hunger, and toward a happier, more fulfilled life.
