A Couple of Slummy Thoughts

I got a whiff of this story from the News Hour on PBS. As you read at the link below the picture pay attention to the comments. Readers are pretty dialed in.



http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/06/10/slumdog-stars.html

Hooray for the producers of this film for setting up a trust for these children so that their income will secure a future for them instead of being squandered by families so impoverished that they do not know how to handle such wealth.

If you noticed in the comments that it is rumored that Oprah took the kids to Disney World instead of doing some lasting good, I have to agree that she made an error in judgement. Not that a positive memory would be a bad thing to give these children, just that a positive memory alone holds very little value when given by someone who has the means to change your entire world. I hope that the children will receive royalty checks from the film's income and got a piece of the DVD as well. Any other star would have gotten that as part of the deal and certainly need it less.

It seems the recent philanthropic fad in Hollywood is doing some good in our world. I wonder if that fad will ever reach the point that actors, producers and directors decide that they should receive reasonable salaries and live average American lives and purposely divert additional income from their enterprises to genuine needs. But then, that question has to come home to me. Do I live on an appropriate percentage of my income or is 90% too much for me when I could direct more of it to do God's good in the world and still live a peace-filled, healthy, rich life?

Do you struggle to keep your family focus on meaningful generosity? What have you done to work toward a healthy balance with your wealth? And I'm not looking for answers about using your money to make more money so your own retirement can be prosperous. I'm looking for ideas on how to focus on the genuine needs of others so that God's investment brings back a return for Him - NOT ME.