I Know A Family That Is Very Wealthy And Well On ...

I know a family that is very wealthy and well on its way toward embracing the principles that have just been laid out. This is a Roman Catholic family that has inherited a vast fortune. These people live just outside a Midwestern city and, as you might expect, make their home on a large estate with a number of servants. They also have a host of needy people living with them. Over the years they have made room in their large house for more than a dozen foster children and made sure that these children have had all the social and educational advantages as their own children enjoyed. In addition, they always have unlikely houseguests. The last time I was there, I met a recovering alcoholic in the process of coming out of the pits of despair. Having lost everything and with no place to go, this man was a guest of the family while he was trying to get his life together. Also, there was a priest who worked as an itinerant evangelist conducting preaching missions in Catholic churches across the country. The priest made this family’s home the place where he could, as he said "always hang my hat".

If you stayed with them over the course of a week, you would realize that this family has turned their home into a ministry center. They host all kinds of groups that need meeting places, from Alcoholics Anonymous to a recovery group for abused women. All of these meetings go on in the context of gracious hospitality that includes snacks and refreshments, along with constant care by the house servants. The servants themselves are treated well, living very much as members of the extended family.

Each year, when this family sends out Christmas cards, it looks almost like a high school yearbook. It has individualized pictures of everybody who is living with them, including the servants, with an account of what has been going on in each person’s life. To say that it is a pleasure to visit with this family is an understatement. It’s a party. There is always a good meal, good conversation, and good laughs. There seems to be a constant swirl of activity, and there is certainly an atmosphere of caring.

Once, on the streets of Paris, I ran into the wealthy couple who make all of this possible. They were staying at the Intercontinental Hotel and asked if my wife and I could have dinner with them. My friends mentioned incidentally that they had brought some of their foster children along on the trip, because they found vacations more enjoyable when shared. They told me that had been to Paris many times, but it was always a new experience for them if they brought along some "young folks" who had never seen it before.

These people have learned to enjoy their wealth in a way that blesses others.

Tony Campolo, Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God (Dallas: Word Pub., 1997)