Forty plus years ago, when we were in seminary and living in a farm community in Northeast Georgia, I was impressed by two things:
1. I thought I knew what it meant to be poor but I had never seen generational, widespread poverty like we experienced there.
2. I was constantly blown away by the generosity of these impoverished people.
Later on, we would see this over and over again on mission trips. The saying "You can't out give the poor" is true.
But this week it was exciting to read some more about "The 50 Percent Club." Started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the requirements are that you have to be really rich and you have to give away half your money.
So far, 40 billionaires have signed on. Most of them are Californians but the only name I recognized there is George Lucus. (What's up with all those braggy movie stars not signing on.)
This concept (giving away half your wealth) isn't new. I'm happy to say I know people who've done it for years -some of them I love very much.
We all know that giving does great things for the giver so I'm sure these billionaires will reap intangible rewards. They have my respect and gratitude so that must make them feel good.
But I still believe "You can't out give the poor."
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