It seems lately that numbers that include the number "7" are getting some big attenion. First, there is the $700 billion dollar bailout that is presently working its way into our financial instituations and, supposedly, back into our economy. This number is so huge I'm not so sure we can even fathom what it means. Then there is the number "OO7" which usually is another term for "James Bond." That much awaited recent installment of the James Bond movies is in the theatres now - "Quantum of Solace." Nothing says "Thanksgiving" like a good James Bond movie.
Then, there is the number 700,000. This number could apply to alot of things but in this case it applies to alot of growling bellies. You see, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) just came out with a report that showed that almost 700,000 children went hungry in the United States at some point in 2007 - up more than 50 percent from the year before. This marks the highest point since 1998. And this is even before the sharp economic downturn.
Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2 percent of Americans who didnt have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives. Almost a third of those, 11.9 million adults and children, went hungry at some point. That figure has grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The government says these people suffered a substantial disruption in their food supply at some point and classifies them as having "very low food security." Here are some other statistics:
> 93% reported eating less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food
> 65% reported that they had been hungry but did not eat because they could not afford enough food
> 45% reported having lost weight because they did not have enough money for food
These are the kinds of numbers we would expect to see in Third World Countries and Underdeveloped Nations - but not in the United States. But yet, we have hunger in our own backyard - in our own communities - in our own neighborhoods. The shame is that for the most part this can be prevented as groups and churches partner together to provide the necessary food people need just to survive. It's somewhat embarrassing to know that we have this kind of problem but yet we have restaurants that have "all you can eat" buffet bars and even churches that have "all you can eat" suppers and dinners. Maybe we should skip a few meals every now and then (I know I could stand too!) and have an "All You Can Give Away" night or an "All You Can Donate to the Local Food Bank" night.
The number seven in the Scriptures is usually a number that stand for "wholeness". In this case, though, life is far from "whole." In this case, the number "seven" with alot of zeroes behind it stands for pain. It stands for unawareness. It stands for apathy. It stands for "national shame and embarrassment". It stand for a "wake-up call."
Mary's song found in the book of Luke has this simple verse: "He has filled the hungry with good things..." (Luke 1:53). Apparently the coming of God's Son was not meant to be synonmous with 700,000 people starving - let alone just one. As God's people, we have been given so much - especially as those living in America. May we do what we can to see that the hungry are filled with good things.
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