Famine

Matthew 24:6-7 – “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: but all this is the beginning of the birthpangs.”

Famine. At the time this was written, famine was sometimes a natural disaster. The rain didn’t come, or the seeds weren’t good, or the sun was too much. Somehow, the food didn’t grow. Other times it was an artificial famine affecting only the poorest of the poor. Roman taxes, temple taxes, and rental charges were taken before those who rented their land could get their share. People who had no land were still taxed by the government and the temple. The poverty these people experienced was not a natural, but rather a man-made poverty. The famine was caused by the system of government.

Now, the world grows more food than we need. Yet there is still famine in some places. Not because the food isn’t there, but because governments cannot or will not distribute resources fairly. The rich get more than their fair share of money, food, and other resources. We could feed everyone in the US today by simply paying people a living wage and ensuring those who cannot work, for whatever reason, have enough to live on. We would still have food left over if we did this. Because we produce more food than we need, we can export it. Our current president claims to put America first, but he certainly doesn’t put Americans first. The current administration is too busy taking more than their fair share and leaving the rest of us with the crumbs. It is a disaster, but not a natural one.

Earthquakes generally are natural disasters. Yet, today, we cause them ourselves by fracking. Fracking is a method for getting oil out of the ground. A proprietary combination of chemicals is pumped into the earth, forcing the oil out. The chemicals remain underground, where they can enter the water table and even your faucet. There are documented cases of people not being able to use their water because it’s so polluted. Sometimes, it can be lit on fire. The fracking process causes earthquakes where none would have occurred. Again, this is caused by systems of government that permit such devastation of the earth. 

Whether or not these are signs of Jesus coming back, they are signs of how lost we’ve become. They're signs that our government "of the people" is not working "for the people." This is exacerbated by our greed; our focus is on us, us, us while people need food, shelter, clothing, and love. Let's work on fair distribution of these resources. Especially love.