How do you deal with the starvation of innocent children?

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Robert_Sock said:
I’m not asking anybody what they are doing to help prevent starvation, but I’m simply asking how do you deal with it?
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We deal with it by HELPING to prevent it!! Sheesh, are you trying to frustrate people intentionally? Not all life is emotion; rather, when one who sees a problem actually wants to solve it, unlike you, they DO SOMETHING about it.

I get the feeling that the only reason you harp on this topic constantly is because you get some kind of emotional satisfaction out of it. People have asked you repeatedly what you actually do to alleviate suffering in the world, and you have dodged the question every single time.

That’s not honest. Stop trying to restrict people to an emotional response to a real problem.
 
Kamaduck said:
We realize that worrying about things doesn’t do any good. That’s true whether it’s worrying about yourself or other people; you have to focus on what you can do today, and not let the suffering in the fallen world keep you from making the little difference that you can.

What you do or do not feel has no effect on whether children eat.
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Yes, but I struggle with depression from living in such a miserable and corrupt world. I want to exit this life ASAP. I do not understand how people can be joyful when so many innocent children are dying of starvation. Is it natural for people to be joyful when their brothers and sisters suffer like this?

"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret
 
Robert_Sock said:
I’m not asking anybody what they are doing to help prevent starvation, but I’m simply asking how do you deal with it?
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That is precisely my point. It matters little how WE cope with the psychologically distressing reality of OTHER PEOPLE’S hunger. That is an incredibly selfish, self-centered perspective. Instead, we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless. God gives us His peace when and how HE chooses, too. Until then, we ignore our own feelings, except insofar as they prompt us to act, and we do our best to live in solidarity with others.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Yes, but I struggle with depression from living in such a miserable and corrupt world. I want to exit this life ASAP. I do not understand how people can be joyful when so many innocent children are dying of starvation. Is it natural for people to be joyful when their brothers and sisters suffer like this?

"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret
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Everyone longs for heaven, but few are willing to embrace the Cross.

We could easily assume those in dire poverty are closest to God’s heart, and it is us that should beg for mercy, since we have the luxury of being emotionally self-indulgent.
 
mommamaree said:
Everyone longs for heaven, but few are willing to embrace the Cross.

We could easily assume those in dire poverty are closest to God’s heart, and it is us that should beg for mercy, since we have the luxury of being emotionally self-indulgent.
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I do not like pain and suffering in me or in other people, but when my crosses come, I try to carry them the best I can.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Yes, but I struggle with depression from living in such a miserable and corrupt world. I want to exit this life ASAP. I do not understand how people can be joyful when so many innocent children are dying of starvation. Is it natural for people to be joyful when their brothers and sisters suffer like this?
"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret
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Anyone feeling this way about life needs to take to heart the message Pope Francis gave to us in the APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION EVANGELII GAUDIUM.http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/f...tazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html
 
dshix said:
We deal with it by HELPING to prevent it!! Sheesh, are you trying to frustrate people intentionally? Not all life is emotion; rather, when one who sees a problem actually wants to solve it, unlike you, they DO SOMETHING about it.

I get the feeling that the only reason you harp on this topic constantly is because you get some kind of emotional satisfaction out of it. People have asked you repeatedly what you actually do to alleviate suffering in the world, and you have dodged the question every single time.

That’s not honest. Stop trying to restrict people to an emotional response to a real problem.
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Why all the judgmental accusations?
 
Robert_Sock said:
Yes, but I struggle with depression from living in such a miserable and corrupt world. I want to exit this life ASAP. I do not understand how people can be joyful when so many innocent children are dying of starvation. Is it natural for people to be joyful when their brothers and sisters suffer like this?

"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret
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I think you’ve mentioned stuff like this before. It’s pretty clear that you keep making threads about this because it upsets you.

I’ve got an instructor at school who also spent several years dealing with severe depression. One of the best pieces of advice that he has given me is this: if you can’t or won’t do anything, at this second, to fix something, then you’re better off not wasting time thinking about it. Otherwise you’ll get even more upset about it, while not being able to channel those feelings into an appropriate response.

So if you can’t do very much to help, or if you’re upset that people’s efforts are “a drop in the bucket”, you need to realize that that’s how life in this fallen world is. But just because we can’t 100% fix a problem doesn’t mean we should give up working on it, and it certainly doesn’t mean we should be paralyzed with grief all the time. That helps nobody. It’s much better to laugh when we feel like laughing, and express any happiness that we do have. It helps us to keep going, and that means we’ll be more successful when we help others tackle these problems.

I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. We should be joyful. We should be able to empathize with others, sure, but we shouldn’t let that crowd out our joy. So yes, it is natural, and it’s what God wants us to do. It is His will that we should try to feed the hungry while also being joyful.
 
Kamaduck said:
I think you’ve mentioned stuff like this before. It’s pretty clear that you keep making threads about this because it upsets you.

I’ve got an instructor at school who also spent several years dealing with severe depression. One of the best pieces of advice that he has given me is this: if you can’t or won’t do anything, at this second, to fix something, then you’re better off not wasting time thinking about it. Otherwise you’ll get even more upset about it, while not being able to channel those feelings into an appropriate response.

So if you can’t do very much to help, or if you’re upset that people’s efforts are “a drop in the bucket”, you need to realize that that’s how life in this fallen world is. But just because we can’t 100% fix a problem doesn’t mean we should give up working on it, and it certainly doesn’t mean we should be paralyzed with grief all the time. That helps nobody. It’s much better to laugh when we feel like laughing, and express any happiness that we do have. It helps us to keep going, and that means we’ll be more successful when we help others tackle these problems.

I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. We should be joyful. We should be able to empathize with others, sure, but we shouldn’t let that crowd out our joy. So yes, it is natural, and it’s what God wants us to do. It is His will that we should try to feed the hungry while also being joyful.
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Take the Holocaust as an example: Would it have been an additional crime if we merely said the Holocaust is bad but we live in a fallen world and there is little we can do? Listen to what you’re saying. Would you dare say that you’re joyful regardless of the atrocities within the Holocaust?

Yes, we are to feel joy, but not the joy this world creates. We are to experience joy in knowing that we are saved by the cross.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Take the Holocaust as an example: Would it have been an additional crime if we merely said the Holocaust is bad but we live in a fallen world and there is little we can do? Listen to what you’re saying. Would you dare say that you’re joyful regardless of the atrocities within the Holocaust?

Yes, we are to feel joy, but not the joy this world creates.
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There are many things in this world that are good. Why cannot these good things bring us joy?
We are to experience joy in knowing that we are saved by the cross.
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Why is that the only thing from which are to experience joy?
 
davidv said:
There are many things in this world that are good. Why cannot these good things bring us joy?

Why is that the only thing from which are to experience joy?
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Did Christ ever say that we should go out into the world and enjoy it?

Would you actually feel joy if the Holocaust was happening today?
 
Robert_Sock said:
Take the Holocaust as an example: Would it have been an additional crime if we merely said the Holocaust is bad but we live in a fallen world and there is little we can do? Listen to what you’re saying. Would you dare say that you’re joyful regardless of the atrocities within the Holocaust?

Yes, we are to feel joy, but not the joy this world creates. We are to experience joy in knowing that we are saved by the cross.
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Yes. Yes, I would. The world does not and should not come to a standstill whenever an atrocity occurs. Certainly we as Christians should always do our best to help those in need, even if it means making sacrifices, but that does not mean we are not allowed to be joyful.

Obviously the appropriate reaction to the Holocaust was stopping it at all costs, and doing as much as possible to help individual people escape. The Allies defeated Germany at no little cost, but it was worth it to stop Hitler and the Nazi’s.

You know what they didn’t do? They didn’t sit on their butts despairing about the tremendous loss of life. They did what they could to win the war. They retained as much joy as they could in those trying times. And most importantly, they kept living. It was the fact that they kept living, kept going about their business, and, yes, daring to feel joy, that allowed them to save themselves as well as others. If they had surrendered to despair, millions more people would have died.

I’m saying we should do the same thing. Despair will not help the starving children. Carrying on and working on fixing the underlying problems just might.
 
Kamaduck said:
Yes. Yes, I would. The world does not and should not come to a standstill whenever an atrocity occurs. Certainly we as Christians should always do our best to help those in need, even if it means making sacrifices, but that does not mean we are not allowed to be joyful.

Obviously the appropriate reaction to the Holocaust was stopping it at all costs, and doing as much as possible to help individual people escape. The Allies defeated Germany at no little cost, but it was worth it to stop Hitler and the Nazi’s.

You know what they didn’t do? They didn’t sit on their butts despairing about the tremendous loss of life. They did what they could to win the war. They retained as much joy as they could in those trying times. And most importantly, they kept living. It was the fact that they kept living, kept going about their business, and, yes, daring to feel joy, that allowed them to save themselves as well as others. If they had surrendered to despair, millions more people would have died.

I’m saying we should do the same thing. Despair will not help the starving children. Carrying on and working on fixing the underlying problems just might.
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Would you feel anger?
 
Robert_Sock said:
Would you feel anger?
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Probably, but not on a regular basis. Constant anger without an outlet would be a really easy way to burn out again. Besides, my anger wouldn’t change anything, so there’d be no point.

For the most part I think I’d carry on and do my part for the war effort, just as I go on with my daily life (or try to) even though I know that thousands of unborn babies are being killed on a regular basis. I’ll help out as much as I can with pro-life rallies and awareness, but there’s no reason I should feel constant anger, and certainly no reason I should stop feeling joy.
 
davidv said:
How does this address my points in the post you quoted?
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I’m saying that the Holocaust ought to be experienced in anger. To seek earthly joy during the time of the Holocaust is sick.
 
Robert_Sock said:
I’m saying that the Holocaust ought to be experienced in anger. To find any earthly joy during the time of the Holocaust is sick.
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Jesus lived during a time when many people were starving, too. There was cruelty in the form of slavery and frequent execution by torture at the hands of the Romans.

He didn’t spend all his time being angry about those things.
 
Robert_Sock said:
I hate to dwell on negative things, but how do you deal with all the extreme poverty in the world? Did you know that 3.5 million innocent children die of starvation each and every year? This is on par with the starvation of Jews during the Holocaust! People tell me that I should not let it bother me, but those types of statements cause me to become all the more irritated. I simply cannot be happy in a world where these types of atrocities take place; I actually feel some of their pain and suffering! Please take a few minutes to reflect on what I just said, and tell me how you deal with it?

(Why are unnecessary pain, suffering and death so hidden from the sight of people? It’s a hideous crime against humanity!!! Ask yourself: What are we doing to try and correct these types of atrocities? The masses of people are unaware of the severity. Why? Few mention it. Why? It’s not just their political and economic system; it’s that the world has been silenced!)
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So, who are the guilty (as opposed to innocent) starving children?

I don’t usually answer a question with a question, but just what are you doing personally about the social issues which resonate with you? Have you found a way to channel that energy in a positive way?
 
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