This past weekend, funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ran out due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. But after two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration could not legally prevent the nation’s largest anti-hunger program from receiving funds, the administration said it would designate $4.65 billion from an Agriculture Department contingency fund to offer partial relief to the 42 million people who rely on SNAP benefits. But as noted by NPR:
“The administration says there’s only $4.65 billion available in that fund to pay for SNAP benefits, which is roughly half of the $8 billion in food assistance payments people receive every month. In a court filing, officials said depleting that fund means ‘no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.’”
In apparent defiance of the federal judges’ rulings, President Donald Trump made a social media post on Tuesday indicating that funding for SNAP would not be restored until Democrats agreed to end the government shutdown. During a November press conference, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described SNAP as “corrupt” and made unsubstantiated claims about “illegal immigrants” using the program. It is striking to me that when it comes to SNAP beneficiaries, it is children who constitute 39% of the 42 million people who rely monthly on this critical social service.
Doing the math, that means that more than 16 million children receive these benefits every month.
As I was thinking about these children and trying to figure out how to write about this situation, I turned to Luke 18, a scene where Jesus rebukes his disciples for not allowing children, even infants, to come to him and receive his blessing: “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (vv. 15-17).
The gospel of Luke is a narrative replete with testimonies of Jesus condemning political and religious leaders for their oppressive and imperial practices. Luke 18:15-17 itself is sandwiched between two scenes where Jesus warns the proud that they will be “humbled” (v. 14), and that it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (v. 25).
What I take all this to mean is that Jesus cared about kids. For those who did not care about kids, Jesus had a harsh warning: It would be better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and drown in the sea (Matthew 18:1-7). With a government that actively assails the needs of children and the poor, the social teachings of Jesus are increasingly relevant.
While many children are faced with starvation and malnutrition across the country, it is dumbfounding to me that Trump continues to prioritize other things, such as satisfying his own hedonism by building an obscene ballroom, all without batting an eye or mentioning the 16 million children facing starvation. The project is estimated to cost over $300 million.
Clearly, Trump treasures his own self-indulgence, revealing how far his heart is from those who are suffering (Matthew 6:21). Rather than ensuring funding for SNAP, Trump and his administration are more concerned about building a ballroom, ordering the Department of Justice to compensate Trump $230 million for its previous “federal investigations,” increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement spending on weaponry by more than 600%, and continuing to aid the state of Israel’s violence in Gaza with $21.7 billion in military funding since October 2023. The U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza has not only contributed to the murder of more than 20,000 children but is currently contributing to 132,000 other children being “at risk of death” due to a human-made famine.
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In other words, this current regime is establishing an empire built on the starvation and murder of children. Yet Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of God is antithetical to the empires of this world. Unlike empires that starve children, the kingdom of God liberates children.
Speaking to the disciples who asked who would be considered “the greatest” in God’s kingdom, Jesus called for a child to come and responded with an arresting word: “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:4-5).
Jesus teaches that to welcome children and care for them is to welcome him. In this radical act of identification, God-in-Christ reveals a desire for the liberation of all children from every form of oppression—including government-allowed starvation. To deny children access to healthy food is not only to endanger their lives through malnutrition, but it is, in light of Jesus’ identification with them, to crucify him all over again. In withholding food from children, we perpetuate a similar form of imperial violence that once starved and made Jesus thirst on a cross (John 19:28).
In the words of Jesus’ own mother, the upside-down economy of God’s kingdom is one where the hungry ought to be filled with “good things” while the rich are “sent away empty” (Luke 1:53). As such, the kingdom of God is a divine threat to worldly empires. Jesus not only urges us to defend and protect the least among us but also condemns those who continue to build their empires while millions of children waste away with no stable access to food.
Heeding Jesus’ teachings, Christians should push the U.S. government to support food and aid trucks’ uninhibited access to Gaza; Christians should also push the U.S. government to restore SNAP benefits for the 16 million children who depend on it every month. But the government must also embark on the narrow path of repentance through deimperialization: confronting the ways it has violated the rights of children and dismantling the imperialism that sits at the heart of this nation. Americans must remember that the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” should be a reality available to all, including children.
Today, we can apply Jesus’ teaching by fighting for the restoration and expansion of SNAP benefits. Yet the liberation struggle cannot end there. As long as empires persist, children will continue to be oppressed, exploited, and marginalized. Liberation theology must therefore labor toward the structural transformation required to deimperialize the U.S.—that is, to dismantle the political, economic, and theological systems that sanctify the domination of the oppressed. This means centering the oppressed themselves in our struggle—among whom children, as some of the most vulnerable, must not only be protected but also recognized as crucial participants in God’s liberating work in the world.
To follow Jesus’ call is to embrace the radicality of his gospel—a gospel that takes the side of the little ones whom the world often forgets. Jesus does not stand above the suffering of children; he stands with them, his very presence bound to theirs: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
To follow Jesus’ call is to embrace the radicality of his gospel—a gospel that takes the side of the little ones whom the world often forgets. Jesus does not stand above the suffering of children; he stands with them, his very presence bound to theirs.
To welcome and defend children, then, is to turn toward Jesus himself. And to turn away from children—to neglect, starve, or endanger them—is to extend the crucifixion to them.
Yanan (he/him) is a writer from the Philippines who serves as editorial director at the Center for Barth Studies, where he guides initiatives that examine Christian faith and practice through the lens of progressive politics. He holds a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and produces house music in his spare time. Find him on Instagram: @yananrahim.
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