Is it OK to be truly happy living in a world where more than 9,500 innocent children starve to death each and every day?

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Well I need to say something about it I feel. I got a chance to work in a five star hotel for some days as part timer. Every day I see people wasting so much food, fresh food. So just think of the different hotels and restaurants that are wasting the precious food every day throughout the world, besides wastage by individuals

I want to say that this poverty is man-made, not god-made. Besides the huge billions of money nations spend for the arms and ammunition, terrorism purposes etc… if they at least try to spend a minute fraction of that amount to feed the hungry, the world would be a better place.

In this case, I don’t think one need to be sad as long as one is doing his best not to waste the food as well as money and spend it to help someone in need. It can make a difference.

One can be truly happy in this case I strongly believe.
 
Out of sight, out of mind? Are the ‘yes’ responses due to most of the starving children living in Africa? What if those starving were loved ones? What if those starving were in your local community?
 
We all want to see an end to hunger but that does not stop us being happy in our lives.
Jesus said there would be poor always but he didn’t tell us to be miserable.
 
thistle said:
We all want to see an end to hunger but that does not stop us being happy in our lives.
Jesus said there would be poor always but he didn’t tell us to be miserable.
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Christ said there would be poor always, but said nothing about there needing to be starving children in the world.
 
JasJose said:
Well I need to say something about it I feel. I got a chance to work in a five star hotel for some days as part timer. Every day I see people wasting so much food, fresh food. So just think of the different hotels and restaurants that are wasting the precious food every day throughout the world, besides wastage by individuals

I want to say that this poverty is man-made, not god-made. Besides the huge billions of money nations spend for the arms and ammunition, terrorism purposes etc… if they at least try to spend a minute fraction of that amount to feed the hungry, the world would be a better place.
In this case, I don’t think one need to be sad as long as one is doing his best not to waste the food as well as money and spend it to help someone in need. It can make a difference.

One can be truly happy in this case I strongly believe
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You’re on to something. The amount of food wasted is mind-boggling. Even though I know it won’t help anybody, I always make it a point to not waste food unless its freshness is dubious (health risk) or it repulses me. Knowing people are in desperate need of food makes me treat food with respect and thank whoever created that food (that would be, ultimately, God). The distribution of food is a problem, not the amount of food. There’s enough food for everyone. If I were well-off, I’d give gladly but the fear of future lack and want, and the realization that I’m on my own, makes me a stingy bastard, essentially.
 
inocente said:
Yikes bro. You sound exactly like me when I was suffering what turned out to be clinical depression. If you’ve not seen your doctor, go tell her what you posted and how you feel. She can help you. She will help you. She does it everyday.
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When you have limited gifts and talents, you tend to lose. When you lose fairly consistently, you can consider yourself a loser. When you think of yourself as having a pathetic brain, and many people in many different circumstances (i.e. they don’t know each other) validate that impression, it becomes something that you integrate as part of who God made you. Being a loser and a dummy invariably yields hopelessness. Depression, from my perspective, is best dealt with “cold turkey”, pills make me dazed, slur my speech, make my brain less efficient (:p, like I need that!), kill my libido etc. I still have at most 30-40 years of life to put up with, then I’m off to…oh wait, there’s the possibility of hell. There is the possiblity that I will never have been happy. God must be terribly heart-broken to hear this…Wait, he foreknew I essentially didn’t stand a chance, so ditch the “heart-broken”, I guess.
 
Robertanthony said:
You’re on to something. The amount of food wasted is mind-boggling. Even though I know it won’t help anybody, I always make it a point to not waste food unless its freshness is dubious (health risk) or it repulses me. Knowing people are in desperate need of food makes me treat food with respect and thank whoever created that food (that would be, ultimately, God). The distribution of food is a problem, not the amount of food. There’s enough food for everyone. If I were well-off, I’d give gladly but the fear of future lack and want, and the realization that I’m on my own, makes me a stingy bastard, essentially.
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There are more than sufficient resources in the world to provide the basic needs of everyone. The problem is resource allocation. Greed is getting worse in certain classes. We even have evangelical leaders teaching that vast wealth is a good thing. Compare that to what the New Testament has to say on the topics of money, wealth and husbandry, in addition to how we should treat our neighbors.

The poorest countries in the world do tend to be very violent places, and/or under the rule of despots. I fear that the wealthy countries are headed in that direction, as the middle classes are systematically eliminated.

The argument sometimes comes down to, “who is going to pay for it,” or “social programs are fine until the other person runs out of money.” But, the reality is that money in our society is nothing more than a symbol, and electronic entry, or a piece of paper, printed by a private bank at the request of our government, and we then pay interest to that bank for the incredible service of money printing and electronic transfers. We then leverage that “money” into loans, with minimal reserves held by the various lenders. The entire system is based on essentially nothing but a printing press and a computer, and it could easily collapse. But pondering how it all works leads me to the conclusion that feeding the hungry has very little to do with anything that we call money.
 
Gricken said:
He also never said we had to be miserable. Stop trying to say that he did.
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Not feeling happy does not equate to misery. There are such things as love and joy towards the Hereafter that can negate misery. I personally feel love, and I’m not at all miserable, nor do I feel happiness.
 
JasJose said:
Well I need to say something about it I feel. I got a chance to work in a five star hotel for some days as part timer. Every day I see people wasting so much food, fresh food. So just think of the different hotels and restaurants that are wasting the precious food every day throughout the world, besides wastage by individuals

I want to say that this poverty is man-made, not god-made. Besides the huge billions of money nations spend for the arms and ammunition, terrorism purposes etc… if they at least try to spend a minute fraction of that amount to feed the hungry, the world would be a better place.

In this case, I don’t think one need to be sad as long as one is doing his best not to waste the food as well as money and spend it to help someone in need. It can make a difference.

One can be truly happy in this case I strongly believe.
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👍
Every tear will be wiped away in heaven.
 
tonyrey said:
👍
Every tear will be wiped away in heaven.
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But in this miserable and corrupt life here on this earth, we are to lament our exile (and the starvation of over 9,500 innocent children each and every day). How often does the bible speak about earthly happiness? It’s the curse of Satan.
 
Robert_Sock said:
But in this miserable and corrupt life here on this earth, we are to lament our exile (and the starvation of over 9,500 innocent children each and every day). How often does the bible speak about earthly happiness? It’s the curse of Satan.
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Robert, do you really believe that earthly happiness is the curse of Satan? It seems to me that this way of thinking is contrary to both your faith and mine. I take it you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving then. Of course, you’re in good company with the Native American indigenous people, many of whom probably don’t celebrate this holiday either.
 
Robert_Sock said:
But in this miserable and corrupt life here on this earth, we are to lament our exile (and the starvation of over 9,500 innocent children each and every day). How often does the bible speak about earthly happiness? It’s the curse of Satan.
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Then you reject the words of St Paul:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love,** JOY**, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”(Galatians 5:22)

“The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.”
— Leslie Weatherhead
The Bible reminds us again and again of the “voice of mirth.” The book of Proverbs says that “the merry heart has a continual feast,” and that such a heart is “good” medicine. The psalmist sings, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter.” In another psalm he speaks of “God my exceeding** joy**.” How do we express exceeding joy? What do we do? We laugh! Isaiah exults, “Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth!” Jeremiah describes the “voice of joy and the voice of gladness . . . of the bridegroom and . . . bride.” Jesus told His disciples that after He left them “your grief will turn to** joy **. . . [which] no one will take away.” The apostle Peter declares that the Christians to whom he is writing “are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” -Sherwood Eliot Wirt, “Jesus, Man of Joy”
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blessedcause.org/Encourage/Jesus%20is%20Joy.htm
 
meltzerboy said:
Robert, do you really believe that earthly happiness is the curse of Satan? It seems to me that this way of thinking is contrary to both your faith and mine. I take it you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving then. Of course, you’re in good company with the Native American indigenous people, many of whom probably don’t celebrate this holiday either.
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I have nothing against giving thanks to God, I just have a problem with the secular notion of the pursuit of happiness when so many children are starving to death. Living here in this world, in exile, ought to result in some degree of sadness. Were not the Jewish people sad during their exiles?
 
We will never be “truly happy” until we are in heaven. We are the Church Militant, and there is work that needs to be done.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Not feeling happy does not equate to misery. There are such things as love and joy towards the Hereafter that can negate misery. I personally feel love, and I’m not at all miserable, nor do I feel happiness.
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If you are neither happy nor miserable you are apathetic - which is contrary to Christ’s teaching:
These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but** be of good cheer**; I have overcome the world.
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John:16
 
tonyrey said:
Then you reject the words of St Paul:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love,** JOY**, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”(Galatians 5:22)

“The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is unbelief.”
— Leslie Weatherhead

blessedcause.org/Encourage/Jesus%20is%20Joy.htm
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As I stated elsewhere, I feel great joy, but a spiritual joy directed at my salvation.
 
Robert_Sock said:
I have nothing against giving thanks to God, I just have a problem with the secular notion of the pursuit of happiness when so many children are starving to death. Living here in this world, in exile, ought to result in some degree of sadness. Were not the Jewish people sad during their exiles?
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I cannot speak for individual Jews; but the Jewish people, as a whole, were not sad during their many exiles. They cultivated a sense of humor and a devotion to learning; most of all, a trust in G-d that He would deliver them from their suffering during their lifetime. They rarely gave in to despair and usually made the effort to live and be grateful for whatever they had with as much joy as possible.
 
tonyrey said:
If you are neither happy nor miserable you are apathetic - which is contrary to Christ’s teaching:
Code: 
				 John:16
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LOVE is by far the superior feeling, and I feel LOVE, not apathy.

What is the target of that “good cheer?” Is it earthly or heavenly?
 
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