Journal 9 (Persuasion—Problem/Solution)
The most urgent problems facing humanity today (not necessarily in order of importance besides the first one).
- Not knowing Jesus
- Hunger/Poverty
- Fatherlessness
- Labor/Sex Slavery
- Oppression of minorities
- Greed
- I think that this is the biggest and most obvious problem that our world faces today. I think that it should be the number one area that Christians should focus on. If everyone or at least more people knew Jesus in an intimate way the world would have far fewer problems.
- There is enough resources available to end world hunger and poverty, but nobody wants to do it. The top countries in the world in GDP could easily ban together and end world hunger. But that would mean loving your neighbor as yourself, something that goes counterculture to our humanity. I am talking to myself because even if all the Christians in the world would at least redistribute their own wealth we could make a huge dent in poverty. What would happen if we all lived only on what we truly needed and nothing more? Some Christians do that already; many do not, including me. We think why should I give up my hard-earned American dream money? Wouldn’t that be communism/socialism? Plus even if I did this not everyone will and so it won’t make a difference anyway and so why even do it at all, right? This is our thought process but what would Jesus say?
- Fatherlessness is a huge problem in America especially in urban areas. It’s not that the fathers have died but they do not stick around to help the mom raise the child. This is a result of male passivity fed by a culture saturated in sensuality. Men see women as a way to get the pleasure they desire. The result is often children that the men really had no intention to take care of. The men move on other women and the next generation often repeats the mistakes of their father, never having been taught a better way. The way to fix this problem is not easy without recognizing God’s design for marriage and family. The government has not helped the problem by giving benefits to one parent homes. It may seem on the surface to be a good thing but in the end men don’t feel the pressure of taking care of the family they created because the government will give more benefits if he is not there. This could actually feed fatherlessness. Although the effect might seem minimal at first, Christians should be modeling what a family should look in God’s design and when people see and experience that firsthand, they will desire that for themselves.
- Even though we think that slavery ended in the 19th century, it is very much still alive. In America labor slavery seems to have ended but sex slavery is very much alive underground. We see it pop up its ugly head in the news every now and then with a bust where some people are rescued. You hear rumors of it in Hollywood. We hear stories of it happening internationally. I think that a big part of this sex slavery is the porn industry. There are organizations like Exodus Cry that are trying to shut down the porn industry. I think that this would do a lot in helping to end the sex slavery. Another way to help this problem is simply by talking about it. It is surprising how many people don’t realize that slavery still exists today. So I think that helping people become aware of it will help to end it. I think that we should not be silent when we see things happen around us that help to feed this sort of thing either.
- Oppression of minorities has been a problem all throughout history and still occurs today. I don’t really know what will help to fix this problem other than the love of Jesus in the lives of people. I know this sounds cliche but it is the truth. If we cannot change other people we can at least show love to those around us and model that in Christianity we all have the same Lord. We need to be willing to listen to minorities and really try to listen to their hearts. We should make them feel heard.
- I think that a big driving factor behind all the problems in the world is greed. People who are greedy want things immediately to try to satisfy their every desire whether that is desire for power, wealth, pleasure, or fame. Life is all about themselves. Again the way to fix this would be for Jesus to change their heart. But even people who are not Christians can be free from greed. I think that the opposite of greed would be gratefulness. If we can help people to see how much they have, it will help them to end greed. Visit those who have less than us is a good way for anyone to be grateful.
