Steve Harvey: God’s blessings come with a duty to give back

Steve Harvey believes his decades of success as an entertainer, motivational speaker and author are blessings from God and connections to his philanthropy.

“The more God trusts you, the more he will bless you, but he has to trust you with what he’s going to give,” Harvey told The Associated Press after a recent appearance at the Social Innovation Summit in Atlanta. “And a part of what he is going to give to you is going to require that you take a portion of it and return the favor.”

Zeev Klein, CEO of Landmark Ventures and founder and curator of the Social Innovation Summit, said Harvey’s message is an important one at a time when we face so many urgent challenges.

“Steve has an extraordinary ability to meet the moment with honesty, empathy, and clarity,” Klein said. “He doesn’t just speak to an audience, he connects people in a way that moves conversations forward.”

The longtime host of “Family Feud” and star of numerous movies and TV shows, Harvey takes giving back very seriously, especially through The Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, which he started with his wife. And he has made sure that his children also take philanthropy very seriously.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Can you talk about why philanthropy is so important to you?

I think I got that from my mother. She always raised me to believe that God blesses you to become a blessing. You have to give to people without expecting anything in return. It’s your job. When you give to somebody you don’t have the right to make the determination what they need it for. (People say,) “He ain’t gonna do nothing but buy some beer. He ain’t gonna do nothing but get drunk. He gonna get high.” That ain’t your business, right? If you do it with the intent to help, the reward is given back to you.

In today’s society, though, there is a lot of discussion about whether the people receiving help are worthy of being helped.

People who don’t know what it is like to be without, they come from a different perspective. They don’t know what it is to grovel. So, we have to start developing some type of understanding with one another. OK, you may not have grown up poor, but suppose you learn what a lot of poor people go through? That would eventually have an effect on you if you were human. But when you don’t listen to them, you don’t want to hear their story, then you keep acting as though you’ve been rich the whole time. That’s the problem we have today.

How were you able to avoid that problem with your children?

Most decent parents want their children to live better than them. My father wanted me to have a better life than him. They didn’t want me to struggle like they did. I did that for my kids. None of my kids really had to grow up poor. Each one of my children had a room with a bathroom in it. Each one had their own desk and computer. I gave them a lot. And sometimes I overdid it, especially the girls. Lord, I just don’t know how to tell my daughters, “No.” That’s my problem. But I taught them: You don’t have the right to think you are better than anybody else. You just hit the jackpot, I’m your daddy. That’s your black card. You really don’t deserve nothing you have. I taught them all this: “Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. But grace is when you get what don’t you deserve.” My children were born into grace. They didn’t have to work to have. I did all of that. That’s how I raised them and that’s why they have good heads on their shoulders.

Is that what you teach in your foundation’s annual mentorship camp, which starts in Atlanta on June 17?

It’s funny you asked me that because I’ve had to change the messaging over the years. It’s a different boy that comes to this camp now. And I guess the only way I can tell it to you is just that it’s a softer boy that’s being raised now. We used to go right into the tough stuff. Now we gotta ease them off the bus. I gotta get up on the bus and give them a little speech. Over the years, we’ve had to taper this so much. It’s a softer camp now. But for the five days I got them, we still show them how life really works. You don’t get participation trophies in life. If you miss the promotion in corporate America, they don’t just give you the check anyway.

_____

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.