Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice/righteousness, for they will be filled.[1]
What are you craving? Your appetite talks much about your health. A loss of one’s appetite can indicate an underlying problem in health. I tread lightly, but there are women while pregnant who crave dirt. Although they are not sure why some have speculated it might be due to an iron deficiency. Another suggests these cravings develop as an adaptive response to how the immune system changes during pregnancy.[2] So let me ask you, what are you hungry for?
Jesus looks at the blessings of people being hungry. If you have a healthy appetite, you are blessed.
Imagine if you were hosting a dinner party and guests to join you. You then work hard to prepare the dishes for each guest to enjoy. Then some of the guests show up and say they are not hungry because they stopped at McDonald’s on the way. There is a significant problem with the guest who has spoiled their appetite with junk food. I do not think the host would be happy with the person who shows up and has valued McDonald’s food more than a homecooked meal.
So, are you hungry? What are you hungry for?
Justice implies that a relationship between people is made right. We often think of righteousness in more personal terms. Sometimes our works of righteousness have more to do with individual behavior than its relational effects. We should be hungry for personal righteousness in which our relationship with God is made right through the grace only Jesus offers. We should also hunger for our relationships with others to be made right. I am challenged today to ask if my hunger for God encompasses a hunger to be a good neighbor. This is the hunger that God can fill.
Can I ask you again, what are you hungry for? And what does your appetite say about you?
[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mt 5:6.
[2] “Eating Dirt: Why People Do It, Dangers, and Purported Benefits,” Healthline, last modified August 20, 2019, accessed March 24, 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/eating-dirt.
