Waste Not, Want Not.

After reading Larry Haverkamp's article, "Recession? How bad can it get?" published in the New Paper on 18th February, it set me in a contemplative mood. Economists put the odds at 50-50 that the US will drop into a recession this year. No matter what happens, it won't get as bad as the three economic extremes described here.

1) Unemployment. In Haiti, food is hard to come by as jobs are almost non existent. Many families eat a special cookie which costs only 5 cents. The main ingredient is dirt! Yellow soil is mixed with shortening and salt, then left to dry in the sun until the cookies are hard. When there is no food, families eat these cookies three times a day so that they will not have hunger pangs!

2) Inflation. Zimbabwe has the highest inflation in the world, estimated at 150,000 per cent per year. The State newspaper, The Herad is 3 million Zimbabwe dollars. One expatriate complained that the price he paid for his home 10 years ago buys only a single banana today!

3) Loans. India is booming. The population suddenly has access to credit cards and personal loans. In the past people would borrow from friends and relatives. Now they borrow from big banks. There is hardly any record of borrowers. Hence people can borrow, default and then borrow again! Now debt collection agencies are mushrooming all over the country! It is quite frightening when borrowing is rampant.

Before any of us starts to complain, let us count our blessings. I feel sad to see people ordering so much food in the food courts and restaurants. Just observe around you. Very often there would be so much left over. Once at the food court, a lady took a mouthful of noodles, grimaced and pushed the plate away. She later ordered from another stall. Recently, at a wedding dinner, I saw that there was a lot of left over chicken. I asked the waitress if I could take the chicken for my neighbour's dogs, but she declined. I understand that restaurants have their reasons, but is it not time to revise this policy? Can you imagine how much food, good sumptuous food, is discarded everyday throughout the world? A starving little African boy saw a grain of rice and was about to pick it up to put in his mouth when he realised an ant was carrying the grain! Despite his hunger, the little boy compassionately allowed the little insect to have the grain of rice.

Anatole France (1844-1924) wrote, "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." If Anatole France were still alive, he would be sad and have to accept the fact despite the majestic equality of the law, the gap between the rich and the poor would always keep widening, because most people are self centred and self seeking.

On my part, I will contribute in a small way. I have decided that from now on, I will not indulge in food like chocolates, chips, etc. Every time I am tempted to buy some chocolates, I will put the money away for the poor. I will cook simple, healthy meals instead of indulging in gourmet dishes which cost a bomb. (I can still always enjoy such meals during wedding dinners, company functions, etc.) I will not waste any morsel of food for if Jesus even asked His disciples to collect remnants of food after feeding the crowd, who am I to waste?

Waste not, want not.