The Hunger Factor

Luke 6:12?25

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

1705  empiplemi (em?pip’?lay?mee);

or empletho (em?play’?tho); from 1722 and the base of 4118; to fill in (up), i.e. (by implication) to satisfy (literally or figuratively):

KJV?? fill.

3983  peinao (pi?nah’?o);

from the same as 3993 (through the idea of pinching toil; “pine”); to famish (absol. or comparatively); figuratively, to crave:

KJV?? be an hungered.

Hunger  1.  Pains, or an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach caused by having had nothing to eat.  Sometimes hunger makes a person feel weak.  2.  A desire or need for food.  3.  A strong desire or craving: longing, yearning.

Appetite  1.  Desire or craving for food.  2.  Desire or craving; taste or liking.  (From the Old French appetite, learned, borrowing from Latin appetitus, -us < appetere long for < ad– + petere seek)

Hunger is an unpleasant, often painful sensation caused by the body’s need for food.  The most familiar hunger pains are stomach cramps, which are produced by contractions of the stomach muscles.  Appetite is related to hunger, but it is merely a desire for food that we like.

In human beings and animals with backbones, chemicals in the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord probably play an important role in regulating the sensation of hunger.  I some of this fluid is taken from a hungry animal and injected into an animal that has just finished eating, that animal will start to eat again.  The amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood also affects hunger.  People may become hungry if they have less than a normal amount of glucose in their blood.

People and animals need many substances besides glucose, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.  Nerves called internal chemoreceptors in the brain, kidneys, digestive system, and elsewhere in the body detect the need for these substances when they are lacking.  This action may lead to eating the needed foods.

In human beings, hunger and eating are also affected by social habits.  We eat at certain times, and we usually eat only certain foods.  Sometimes signals form internal receptor nerves that do not give information on hunger are interpreted as hunger.  A person may then overeat and become overweight.

Now when we speak of hunger, we cannot fail to speak of appetite.  Appetite, is the desire or craving for a pleasant and familiar food.  Even after a satisfying meal, people may desire a food they like.  Appetite is based on taste experience.  For example, ice cream, watermelon, or pickle may arouse appetite in one person, and raw seal blubber or fried caterpillar may make another’s “mouth water.”

Appetite differs form hunger, but is closely related to it.  The feeling of hunger, or hunger pangs, is caused by strong contractions of the stomach muscles.  Hunger appears to be felt in the stomach, just as people feel thirst in the throat.  But it is difficult to localize appetite.  The sight, smell, or even thought of foods that are pleasing can arouse appetite.  Worry, fear, excitement, anger, and sorrow depress it.  Hunger may border on pain; appetite does not.

A new-born infant experiences hunger, but probably not appetite.  Most animals usually know only hunger.  But pets often develop an appetite for special foods through training by their owners.  For example, a pet dog may develop an appetite for ice cream or candy.

The nervous center for hunger is located in the hypothalamus, one of the primitive brain areas in human beings.  Appetite depends on the memory of a food previously enjoyed.  Like other memories, it is controlled by higher centers in the brain where consciousness is experienced.

Appetite is increased by attractive service and pleasant surroundings.  It is decreased by nausea, foul smells, and disgusting sights.  A lack of vitamin B1, as well as flabby stomach muscles, and certain diseases of the nervous system, depress appetite.

I was at a service the other night that really stirred me up as so many times before.  It was a missionary service,  and the Spirit of the Lord seemed to be especially close.  I reveled in the stories of great faith, miracles, signs and wonders.  I rejoiced at the reports of so many receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  I sat there with tears running down my face to think of the way that God is moving in Brazil, South America.  The stories of men and women who hunger, truly hunger after truth and reality, to the degree that they, when exposed to this wonderful Way, just simply believe everything that God and His Word says.

As I sat there and thought about the exciting stories that I was hearing, I could not help but compare my ministry and it’s results to those that I was hearing.  I realize that every man has his own gift and calling, and has to abide therein, but you cannot help but ask yourselves the question, “Why does it happen over there, and not over here?”

I have spoken in abundance lately about the difference in the Western and the Eastern mind-set.  We in the Western civilization largely are motivated by emotion, sensuality, and feeling.  We do, or refuse to do a thing, simply by the way that we “feel” about it.  A good example is marriage.  How many marriages today have failed because one or the other’s “feelings” got fouled up?  On the other hand, in the Eastern culture, even today, it is not about the way you “feel” but it is about the “will.”  Commitment and the will is how things are accomplished and looked at in that culture.