I know hope is the favourite food of life but the truth that it is an unphysical food should not be forgotten. It is hoped that ferries one to a better day, maybe tomorrow or next tomorrow.
When tomorrow comes, the same hope still puts one in a safe vehicle and drives one to tomorrow’s tomorrow. But unfortunately, when physical food goes missing on the fourth day, one breaks down, feels lethargic and too hungry.
The body then starts eating itself, what doctors vividly call autophagy. The vital organs, viz the brain, heart and kidneys begin consuming all the stored nutrients, squeezing the necks of other organs to die a nutritional death. When breathing ceases, people say one has died. Where is hope to help one in such a situation? Yes, people live on hope but still, food is necessary to be available.
Even Christians whom Jesus Christ told “a man should not live on the bread alone, but also on the word of God” cannot eat the word of God for one week and they still breath. The bread is still necessary to be available.
Let me tell you a story where both hope and food worked effectively. Three days of sleeping with rattling stomachs, a man picked up his spear and went to the forest. He left his wife and children at home. In the morning, children were really dying of hunger. His wife was hoping that he would come back with food.
So, she decided to instil hope in children. She set fire on, poured water into the sauce and put it on fire. She told children to go out as she swept the room. Inside the room alone, she put an axe into the water in the sauce and added salt. Then she told children that your meat is on fire, you will eat it now and feel satisfied. The children were happy on hearing that.
30 minutes later, she scooped some soup and gave it to the children. The children sipped it and asked for meat but she told them it would be out soon. She was just keeping them hoping for the best. As if God was watching, her husband shortly arrived at home with a bush meat. She received and put it on fire immediately. 30 minutes later, children were playing in the compound happily.
So, hope can truly nourish. But if the man had returned barehanded, would have hope kept the children alive for two more days? Hope would not have kept them alive. That means, it is necessary to hope for and eat food as well.
South Sudanese have been living on hope for a good number of years now. Every year, they hope things would improve next year, but unfortunately, things become worse. Last year, they prayed for a better 2024, but God answered them with a new variant of economic crisis. Is this the expected answer? NO!
The expected answer is “economic recovery” so that commodities become affordable for a common man. Commodities have become very expensive. Even hope itself is more expensive than any commodity in the market. So, both hope and food are scarce. What would nourish life here?
Remember hunger shuts down everything. It distorts one’s mind to think of anything worth appreciating. Crimes are on the rise because people are hungry. When hungry, one forgets what hope means. So, the time that South Sudanese have spent living on hope is too long. It is high time South Sudanese should be fed with food.
Thanks for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.