Tag Archives: Future-Fridays

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What If We Stopped Dining Out Until Everyone Could Simply Eat?

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Global hunger is a global problem. I don’t know that there was a time in the history of the world that we were better equipped with the resources, technology, power and money to be able to solve world hunger then we have today. It’s so obvious we have the resources and ability to do this that the UN’s first Millennium Development Goal is to:

  • Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day
  • Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

We, as the human race, have agreed to accomplish this goal within the next 8 years (2015). It doesn’t look like we are on track. It seems we can talk the talk, but we can’t walk the walk. It seems we need to do something more drastic to make this goal a priority in the world.

What if we (meaning the human race) collectively took a ‘hunger strike’ of sorts and refused to eat out until we figured out this issue of global hunger? Could you imagine the implications something like that would have?
First of all, just in the USA we spend 354.4 billion dollars eating out each year. Just that, without the help of any government could solve world hunger. If we stopped eating out an entire sector of industry would suddenly be crippled and can you imagine the outcry from the CEO’s to the burger flippers? If there was no demand for beef overseas, we might suddenly free up enough livestock and grain to feed the people who need it most.
Blow up a building or start playing with nuclear stuff and we’ll hope in multi-million dollar jets, mobilize thousands of troops, and unify a whole country to zero there energy and hatred on one man. Thousands dying every day is the same story that was happening before I was born. It’s the same dull, unexciting, situation that was happening as relatives bought me cute little baby outfits when I was little, friends bought me cheap plastic toys, as pizza and breadsticks were enjoyed at Showbiz, and it’s the same story now as I take my fun money and go for a night on the town.
It should disturb us today, it should have bothered us ten years ago. Could you imagine a collective hunger strike and the implications that would have?

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What If? Visions of the Future or Future Fridays

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I’m a visionary of sorts. What I mean is that I often think about and dream about what would happen if… the big radical amazing changes we long to take place actually took place. In an effort to encourage my imagination and spread the vision of change to others, I’m gonna start writing once in a while some of these thoughts. Don’t know if I’ll call them by a unique title or not, any ideas?

In reflection on yesterdays post on Jesus’ statements on Wealth…
What if Everyone Who Read The Bible Lived Out What Jesus said about Wealth and Possessions.

First of all, I think there would be a lot more people that chose to step out of the rat race, selling their possessions and wandering the land (just like Jesus!). But let’s think on a large scale. I’m not gonna look up specific numbers, but let’s just suppose there are 1 billion people in the world who actually read the Bible. If each of them read Jesus’ words and chose to live their lives accordingly it would mean incredible change in the world. Let’s assume they chose to continue at their jobs, provide the basics for their family and gave the rest to those in need.
There would be no one homeless or without something to eat in the entire United States. If a Bible reader saw a person walking the street with nothing to eat or no were to sleep they would bring them to their house and feed them, clothe them, and provide them with shelter. If they didn’t have room at their home they would do as the Samaritan and provide the finances to feed, clothe and shelter their companion until they are well enough to make it on their own.
Organizations like World Vision and Compassion which sponsor children through out the world would suddenly have more finances available then children and they would have to quadruple their service to every child in the entire world.

We could probably fully fund feeding, vaccinating, providing clean water, educating, and housing ever person on the planet.

Imagine that.

And just in case you thought there wasn’t any validity to this, here’s a stat from Generous Giving:
Generosity Potential (American Churchgoers)

1. If members of historically Christian churches in the United States had raised their giving to the Old Testament’s minimum standard of giving (10 percent of income) in 2000, an additional $139 billion a year would become available.