at least it can be
December 9, 2010 (Thursday)
Facebook’s founder is leading a movement among young billionaires to start giving away their fortunes while still young. So far, their number is sixteen. They join an older group of wealthy people who have become philanthropists, donating to non-profit organizations in a big way. Perhaps they were influenced by Warren Buffet, who gave a copy of Andrew Carnegie’s book to Bill Gates, in which Carnegie made a strong point of pointing out that family heirs of huge estates often waste it all.
The trend among the young benefactors shows us the power of influence. “Peer Pressure” is not always a bad thing. It can be a good thing if people are being influenced to do good or to be good.
An example of a person’s influence is singer Eminem, who is losing weight because of Christian Bale’s success in losing 60 pounds to land a movie role. Bale’s advice to Eminem upon hearing of his efforts is, “Don’t do it.” Bale said the extreme weight loss sapped all his energy and enthusiasm for life, giving tremendous incentive for the practice of meditation, which he found helpful. In spite of the advantages of meditation, however, he lobbies now for more enthusiasm and interest in life itself, with all of its ups and downs.
The discovery that life is much better when we face difficulties and trials was made a long, long time ago and is commended in the Bible, in which we are urged to “fight the good fight” and depend upon inner strength provided by the Lord.
So, based upon these two news items, here’s the advice for today: Be thankful for your troubles, and give away a billion dollars. Do it now, while you’re thinking about it. You know how forgetful we are.