Thursday 6 June 2013

LET NOTHING BE WASTED!


When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” John 6:12 (NIV)
The feeding of the 5000 is the only Gospel story that is found in all four gospels!- Matt. 14:13/Mark 6:31/Luke 9:10-17/John 6:12. Therefore,wouldn't you agree that we should pay some importance to the highlighted words?

Pastor Raul (Grace Covenant Church) made an interesting observation with an interesting calculation:

1 sack of rice = 50 kgs 
1 kg= approx.50,000 grains of rice =2.5 million grains in a sack of rice!

He showed a photo of his rice cooker with some grains of rice remaining on the sides and bottom. He also showed us a pic of a dustbin in the Philipines containing a lot of cooked rice thrown away. He then said that the whole nation of the Philippines ate rice and if everyone wasted even a little rice, it would amount to quite a few platefuls of rice that would have fed many of the poor who did not have any food to eat!

Once,in his own cooker, he counted about 200 leftover grains! He decided that he would be more sensitive and aware of such waste. He then showed us how he wipes out his lunchbox everyday just recollecting the Lord's command not to waste anything.

He stressed on the point that we are 'Stewards of His resources' !

Gen 1:26-28Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Gen 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Deut. 15:11There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

Pastor Raul then reminded us of other types of wastage - wasting of our time, resources, gifts and talents

Eph. 5:15-18Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine,which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

1Pt. 4:10-11- Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Rom. 12:5-8so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts,according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith;if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

(NOTE: More provisions = more savings = more effort to help people/church in need).

and let us not forget ...

Rom. 14:12So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

1 comment:

  1. Antonio(my bro) forwarded this article to me just now...the timing couldn't have been better!

    By Josephine McKenna in Rome
    8:20PM BST 05 Jun 2013

    The pontiff dedicated his weekly audience in St Peter’s Square to the United Nations World Environment Day to draw attention to the excesses of consumerism and food wastage.
    “This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, unfortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition,” the Pope said.
    “Once our grandparents were very careful not to throw away any leftover food. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times we are no longer able to give a just value.
    “Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of the poor and the hungry,” he said.
    Since taking office in March, Pope Francis has called for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to do more to defend the poor and to practise greater austerity itself. He has also made several calls for global financial reform.
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    The Pope dedicated his Wednesday audience, which attracted thousands of pilgrims from around the world, to the UN’s World Environment Day.
    The audience added a personal element for the Argentinian-born pontiff as 30 Italian relatives came to the Vatican from northern Italy to greet him. The Pope was born in Buenos Aires to Italian migrants.
    “According to an Argentinian source who studied our family tree, my great grandfather was the brother of Pope Francis’s great-grandfather,” said Luigi Bergoglio from Santena in the region of Piedmont.
    The Pope urged people to care for the environment and reduce waste.
    “Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it?
    “Cultivating and caring for creation is God’s indication given to each one of us not only at the beginning of history. It means nurturing the world with responsibility and transforming it into a garden, a habitable place for everyone.”
    Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural organisation, welcomed the Pope’s speech and his recognition of farmers’ contribution to agriculture and cultivation.
    “The globalisation of markets has reduced responsibility, honesty and transparency and provoked the international crisis,” said Sergio Marini, the president of Coldiretti. “I am grateful to the pope for recognising our work.”
    Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food, or one third of what is produced for human consumption, gets lost or wasted every year, according to the United Nations’ food agency.
    In his speech, Pope Francis denounced the fact that a 10-point drop in stock markets was widely considered “a tragedy” while homeless people dying on our streets was no longer news.
    “Human ecology and environmental ecology walk hand in hand”, he said.

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