Weekly Reaction #1 - But They That Deal Truly Are His Delight

The older I have gotten, the more I have realized that the world is not so much a place of black and white as it is a grey place, full of differing opinions and uncertainties. It would be so much easier to navigate life if every decision made was a case of right and wrong and would please everyone. Unfortunately, this is not the reality, and everyone has an opinion on what is the right solution to a problem.

This is where the discussion of this past week becomes frustrating. There are so many inconclusive solutions to the world’s problems. Everyone can agree that there is a problem, but no one can agree on how we should go about saving the world or, as it should be called, being responsible stewards of God’s creation. Every issue I read about this week had multiple solutions, and each solution was backed by intelligent and informed opinions.

For example, the beef industry is full of heated conflict about animal well-being, human health, and the climate change. Which is healthier for the planet, grass-fed or grain-fed cattle? One side claims that grass-fed cows enjoy a more natural life and are healthier to consume. But grass-fed cows produce more methane than cattle who live in feedlots. Due to multiple documentaries and news articles, my idea of feedlots was that they were cramped and disease-ridden. This reality may have been true at one time in one place, but most feedlots provide enough space for cows and are kept relatively clean. How are we supposed to make decisions when each decision could potentially be right? The article on aquaculture seemed to present a similar dilemma. Intelligent people support either types of fish farming, land tanks and ocean pens, with experience and logic. Tanks maintained on land are easily controlled and have no impact on oceans while pens set up just off shore are more natural and can contribute to the ocean’s ecosystem. Another highly debated topic is that of diet. Which diet is best? It seems as if every diet proposed will solve every health and weight problem that we have. In actuality, different cultures live on drastically different diets, and each of those diets have pros and cons.

Article after article was inconclusive on what should be done and how to do it. Many of them focused on how the human population needs to be fed. In the article, The Next Breadbasket, I was struck by a simple truth that would solve many of the food crisis problems around the world. That truth came from the mouth of a successful farmer in Mozambique: “Keep your word.” Many of the farming problems in discussed in the article come from a lack of communication and honesty between local governments, corporate farms, and small communities. Promises are not kept and trust is broken. This is not just a problem for the small farming communities and their governments in African countries. This a fundamental problem when it comes to the political and economic debate on how to care for the planet and the growing population. Honesty is crucial in order to get things done. No one wants to participate in a solution when they do not trust those who propose the solution.

Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight” (KJV). We may have been able to define the problem of world hunger but, without honesty and trust, the problems will never be solved.