“How much are you giving now?” I asked him.
“None,” he answered.“
“Then why would winning the lottery change anything?”
“Good point,” he answered. “The truth is I probably would find some reason not to give anything -- even if I had more money.”
I share this story as a means of fanning the flames of discussion regarding the recent news item about the Georgia family who is selling their “big” house in order to help provide money for those who are poor. (See http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/07/02/hunger.house/index.html).
One day while driving with her father, Hannah Salwen (a 15 year old from Atlanta) noticed a Mercedes stopped next to a homeless man sitting on the curb. "I said to my dad, 'If that guy didn't have such a nice car, then that homeless guy could have a nice meal,' " Hannah recalled. The teen’s observation started family discussions about what they needed versus what was enough. Hannah's father said this family conversation was life-changing.
"We stopped and paused and thought about what are the things in the world that could really make a difference, a little bit of difference in the world," Hannah's father said. So the Salwens put the house up for sale in May 2007 and started figuring out what they would do with half the proceeds, which
would amount to more than $800,000.When the Salwens’ sell their house, the money will be channeled through a community foundation and end up in Ghana. "This will underwrite a process in more than 30 villages to enable people to meet all of their basic needs on a sustainable basis," the foundation director said. "The villagers will be able to grow enough food, to build clinics and schools, and the villagers will be doing the lion's share of the work themselves."
The foundation director said he'd never heard of a family doing such a thing.
Too bad this is a news-worthy item. For those of us who are Christians, isn’t it what we’re all called to do? (See Matthew 19:21)
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