Isaiah 58 talks about the true fast that God desires:
Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Scott Todd, the senior ministry advisor for Compassion International, has taken the true fast concept as the premise of his book Fast Living. The book is different from so many other books on poverty I’ve read: It’s incredibly hopeful!
Todd believes that the church can end poverty in one generation. He talks about the progress that has already been made:
- “In the past eight years, the number of kids dying from measles has declined by 78 percent.”
- “Twenty-two countries have cut their malaria rate in half in only six years.”
- “The number of children dying before their fifth birthday has been cut in half and we did it in a generation.”
- “Every day there are nineteen thousand fewer children dying of preventable causes.”
The positive stats keep rolling in! Todd wants us to be encouraged—and to keep the momentum going. Christians have more than enough resources to end poverty in this generation. How exciting is that?!
How can you and I be a part of it? Visit the :58 Getting Started page. I’ve read the book, and you might want to read it to (it’s a fast read). The movie is also out; put your zip code in to see where it will be showing near you. On the website you can take a pledge to fast in the way you’ve chosen, and you can choose projects to help group fund.
It’s an exciting challenge! Imagine the joy of making poverty history in this generation. Join the team, and let’s get it done fast.
Carol, thanks for this review. I believe in this book and the 58 project–as you said, I love that Fast Living is such a positive, hopeful message–very rare when we’re talking about poverty. This would be a great book to study with a group, and there is a FREE small group discussion guide available You can download it here: http://live58.org/downloads/fast-living-readers-guide.pdf
Thanks, Keri, that’s a great tool for groups. I appreciate your mentioning it.
I’ve been hearing a little bit about this book, and I’d love to read it! As for how to help, wow! That seems overwhelming at times, but when we lived in Illinois, I interviewed a man who was on a mission to inspire Christians to give “a little more” for this sort of change. Giving up things like soda or coffee and using the money you’d spend on that for a poverty issue. Phil & I have a heart to stop giving “just because” Christmas gifts, especially where extended family is concerned. We’ve suggested at his extended family get together, taking a collection per family and buying a goat or something like that from Samaritan’s Purse. We haven’t yet convinced our families to do this, but I think Christmas is a place to start. Thanks for sharing about this book! (And FYI, the link to the 58 getting started page isn’t working. I looked it up, but I thought you’d want to know.)
Thanks, Lisa, for the heads up on the link. I fixed it, I believe. Last year with my siblings we agreed to do alternative gifts and decided to choose a gift that was meaningful because of the person it was donated to (for instance, we gave a donation to a equestrian therapy group in honor of my sister-in-law because she loves horses). It was cool, except one relative didn’t do it, but gave gifts instead, which was a bit awkward. I plan to suggest it again this year.