Olbrich Botanical Garden
Madison WI

“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money . . . to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and indeed, as far as it will go, to relive the wants of all (humankind)?   How can you, dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” John Wesley 

“None can afford to throw any part of that food and raiment into the sea, which was lodged with him on purpose to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.” John Wesley

It’s hard to read Jesus’ parable about the rich man (Luke 12:16-21), who rather than sharing his food and his wealth with the poor, decides instead to tear down his old buildings and build larger ones that will store the entire crop . . . Without thinking of food stored in warehouses intended for hungry and starving people, about to be destroyed. Food packaged and ready to ship, nearing its expiration date, that was meant to feed starving people. It tarries there instead of being distributed to the people it was intended to help. While it sat there, the U.S. announced 500 tons of food needs to be incinerated, as it is no longer safe to export. Only a large outcry from congress has forced the issue, of getting food to starving people.

The DOGE cuts to USAID have been devastating. Clinics closed. Nutritious food for starving children was held back. The distribution system that worked so well at getting food to communities, has been severely disrupted in many places, if not gone entirely in others.

The rich man in Jesus’ parable suffers a terrible fate. In his greed, “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” Luke 12:20-21

Presumably, we were told cuts to US AID would be good for the country. We would not be wasting money in foreign places that did not align with the new administration’s policies. But rather than saving money, we are wasting life-giving food and supplies, for people around the world who are suffering today. The cut backs have been devastating. And while some in the administration claim no one has died because of those cuts, only a person in complete denial, can even pretend that to be true.

Meanwhile the life-giving nutrition for starving children sits in warehouses marked with dates that will not get it there in time. Destroying this food instead of sending it the places of need is criminal. Only a dark soul would withhold food for the needy, when resources are already there and in place. Whatever the motivation really was for cutting USAID, its consequences have been devastating.

Jesus never told people, “Feed the hungry if they align with your particular interests or a nation’s interests.” He taught that whatever we did for the least of his brothers or sisters, was the same as doing it for him, including feeding the hungry. (Matthew 25:31-40)

For generations those in office in Washington, have known the best goodwill we could create for our nation, and for our own security, was to share the benefit of our wealth through food and medical assistance. That we have drastically pulled back our aid is to our shame and perhaps to our undoing.

Links to quoted scripture  Luke 12:16-21 and Matthew 25:31-46