Can Man Bring an End to Poverty?

MILLIONS have grown up without experiencing poverty. They have never had to go to bed hungry or fall asleep shivering from the cold. Still, many of those individuals feel sorry for the poor and go out of their way to help them.

Poverty, however, remains a harsh reality for people who are plagued by civil war, floods, droughts, and other problems. These factors are a nightmare to African subsistence farmers. Some have been forced to leave their homes and move to big cities or to live as refugees in a new country. Other rural dwellers move to cities because they are enticed by promises of a better life.

Overcrowded cities often become breeding grounds for poverty. There is very little space, if any at all, to plant crops. Employment is usually hard to find. Out of sheer desperation, many turn to a life of crime. City dwellers cry out for help, but human governments are unable to solve the growing problem of poverty. Referring to a United Nations report released in November 2003, The Independent of London stated: “The world is getting hungrier.” It added: “Across the world an estimated 842 million people are today undernourished​—and that figure is again climbing, with an additional 5 million hungry people every year.”

The South Africa branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses at times receives letters from poverty-stricken people. For example, a man from Bloemfontein wrote: “I’m unemployed, and I steal in the city whenever there’s a chance. If I don’t, we are hungry for days​—not to mention the bitter cold. There’s absolutely no work. Many are roaming the streets in search of work and something to eat. I know of others who search the dustbins for food. Some commit suicide. Many like me are depressed and hopeless. It seems that there’s no hope for the future. Does God, who created us with the need to eat and clothe ourselves, not see this?”

There are comforting answers to this man’s concerns. As the following article will show, these answers are found in the pages of God’s Word, the Bible.