Lions, Poachers and Protesters, Oh My!

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
Matthew 25:34-36

The news and social media have been filled with stories and commentaries this past week regarding the hunting and slaughter of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. The man who killed Cecil is an American dentist who claims to have thought he was within the bounds of the law to hunt and kill this lion. The outrage that ensued around the globe has been somewhat overwhelming. This dentist has received death threats, had to close down his practice, and has gone into hiding. Rallies have occurred around the world protesting this senseless act of savagery. Or so the hyperbole goes.

I do not support the sport of trophy hunting in any manner, and I think it is rather barbaric to lure a beautiful stately creature like Cecil to an unprotected area where he could be wounded with an arrow, and then tracked down for a day before finally being put out of his misery. I'm all for conservation and protecting animals that are dangerously close to becoming endangered species. But I find the public reaction to this situation to be somewhat puzzling.

How many people would have cared about this poaching if the target hadn't been Cecil, practically a national mascot in Zimbabwe? Would they have had the same response if the lion was just another nameless big cat shot down for his head and skin? After all, these types of things happen all the time without warranting so much as a headline, let alone an international scandal.

As much as Cecil's demise is most regrettable, I wonder how outraged the masses would be if they bothered to learn about all the other senseless deaths that occur every day around the world. Deaths that do not make headlines, and do not result in rallies and protests.

I'm not talking about animals being poached. I'm talking about children. Millions of children. Here are a few statistics that no one is talking about:

• More than 70 percent of the world's 146 million underweight children under age five years live in just 10 countries, with more than 50 per cent located in South Asia alone;
  (Source: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)
• 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths;
  (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
• The cost of undernutrition to national economic development is estimated at US$20-30 billion per annum; (Source: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)
• One out of four children - roughly 146 million - in developing countries are underweight;
  (Source: The State of the World's Children, UNICEF, 2007)
• Undernutrition contributes to 53 percent of the 9.7 million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries. (Source: Under five deaths by cause, UNICEF, 2006)

Until last weekend, I was unaware of the magnitude of childhood hunger and malnutrition around the world, especially in developing countries. Clarke and I were privileged to spend a couple of hours last Saturday assembling meal packets for an organization called Feed My Starving Children (www.fmsc.org). FMSC delivers millions of these meal packages to agencies and ministries around the world, where they are provided to the most vulnerable children. I encourage you to visit their website to learn more about what this Christian organization does.

I wonder how many more children in the world would be given the opportunity to grow up and live healthy, productive lives if the same amount of energy and resources being spent over the death of one lion was used to benefit organizations such as FMSC.

Jesus taught us that we will be commended for feeding the hungry. He never mentioned anything about lions. I'll take my chances and strive for the former. How about you?

Have a blessed week!
Pastor David