WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
Who wants to be a millionaire? Ooh, ooh, pick me; I want to be a millionaire! I realize that it will never happen, but a girl can wish, can’t she? My daydream begins from an obsession with the new ABC show, Secret Millionaire. The show profiles millionaire men and women who take a portion of their wealth and bestow it on obscure servants who perform selfless acts of kindness, offering hope in difficult places, often to the demise of their own meager standard of living. The secret millionaire “scopes” out various communities, looking for these sacrificial persons or organizations that are giving above and beyond to the needy. The millionaire offers them a financial blessing and occasional personal, on-going friendship and mentoring.

I’m not whining about my financial status, as I, like most Americans, am not in need, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, even though I and my family may appear as having less, we are able to experience a superior quality of life. Could some things be nicer if I was a millionaire? Maybe…okay, yes. I’d certainly own a larger house than that of our current one of under 1000 sq. ft. I’d drive a newer car with less than the 200,000 miles on it. I would start my own business. I would bless my entire immediate family with an all-expense-paid “Dan in Real Life” vacation, etc., etc.

I reckoned a long time ago that I would never be a millionaire. Not that I believe God couldn’t or wouldn’t trust me with wealth and riches, though I have begged and pleaded, telling Him that I would spend it wisely, generously, and sacrificially. I know He loves me, and knows that I would be a wonderful candidate to be a millionaire. “Why can’t I?” I’m ashamed to say I have asked, like a child asking it’s mommy over and over again for a treat at the check-out stand. I was never allowed to pitch a fit about not getting what I wanted when I was a child, so I have decided to accept and even embrace my status with joy, hoping to grow, instead, in wisdom and grace.

This is where I go back to the reason I love Secret Millionaire. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the millionaire who gives out of a new-found sense of generosity, because I have been brought to tears over their sudden awareness of great needs around them. Why I love the show is solely because of the non-millionaire people who give to their last dime, their last shirt, their last resource, their last ounce of spirit and soul, because that’s all they have, except for the deep well of love they possess for  mankind. You don’t have to watch TV to know that these people are all around us: those who devote time and skill to better the houses of immigrants who have little and need befriending; those who offer heart to those suffering from cancer, abuse and depression; they that offer their own resources to help the proverbial poor, starving college student, money for a meager family to buy Christmas presents, even the last $10.00 to that man standing on the corner, crying behind a sign that reads, “Will work for $ to feed my children.”

I am not a millionaire, but I am wealthy beyond imagination as I purposefully give of my time, talents and love to my husband, grown children as well as the ones still at home, church, the kids’ schools, yes, even that honestly hungry man not asking for $ but work. I must protect myself, and so must you, from becoming cynical and self-serving in a world that demands things be done “your way.” What would happen if we dared to do things according to God’s way? What if we got married instead of just live with the one we love? What if we stood up against the F word, sex and violence in movies and on TV? What if we bought groceries or a car for someone in need, instead of going out to eat again this week or getting a second or third car, just for fun? What if we went to church instead of the gym? What if we simply engaged the store clerk in a cheerful conversation just for the sake of making her day, or complimenting a total stranger for something…anything?

Who wants to be a millionaire? Perhaps we should rethink what a millionaire is: someone with a million smiles to give, a thousand hugs to give, a hundred hours to give, $10.00 to give, 1 commitment to give for a lifetime of love and faithfulness. We can all be this kind of millionaire when we allocate our resources and places of our hearts to areas that pay greater dividends than just money. Yes, I do want to be a millionaire, THIS kind of millionaire. How about you? By the way, check out the lyrics to Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” It’s what I’m talking about.