History vs. Poverty

Here's a thought... The other day on the news there was a community group asking the public to consider donating to a non-profit organization to help save a one-room school house. Apparently there is a school house that is on a plot of land where a proposed shopping plaza or factory will soon be built. The developer has agreed to delay work for a number of weeks until the group has an opportunity to "save history."

Now, I don't know why, but when I heard this story it struck me as odd. Why, in these economic times, would anyone want to spend so much money to save a one-room school house. Yes, I have a degree in Historical Communications and I appreciate our National Parks and Monuments, but when is enough enough? Isn't there something better we should be spending our money on? Like perhaps finding ways to help the 10% of Americans who are unemployed, or maybe finding a cure for Cancer and AIDS?

I guess you could say that about any kind of extravagant expense. Couldn't the money be better spent? And I guess it's something that you have to wrestle with every time? History vs. Poverty. Opulence vs. Humility. My faith and my worldview tells me that it is better to humble youself and redirect you excess to those in need. But the hardest thing in the world is determining where that line is to be drawn. There's no objective standard. It would be so much easier if the line was drawn for us. But then I guess that would be cheap faith--without suffering.