Where Have the Margins Gone?

I live in a neighborhood called, Eldorado Estates. And the neighborhood just a block away is called Eldorado Fairways because those homes are on the golf course. If you were to look at these homes and see the cars that are being driven around here, you would not be surprised to find out that the average household salary is $120k to $140k.

But here's something else you would not know by just looking at the people in this neighborhood - the majority of them are up to their eyeballs in debt and are literally living pay check to pay check. They've not been putting money away for a rainy day - not enough to cover their expenses for their beautiful shiny cars, the big houses, and the fancy flat panel television sets that adorn their homes should they get laid off or if there is a recession.

There is absolutely no margin for change. Even if one gets convinced that they should invest more in the Kingdom of God and invest more in the lives of other people by tithing and giving, they can't. There's no room. There's no margin. So we don't. Feeling guilty the whole time because we know we could be doing so much more with what we've been given.

If you were to look at the way we manage our time in these neighborhoods, here's what you would find. Monday is girl scouts day, and gymnastics, Tuesday is boy scouts and basketball, Wednesday night is for the church, Thursday is piano and voice lessons, Friday is karate and art lessons, Saturday is the games, matches, meets, and birthday parties, and Sundays is running around like crazy after church because there's the soccer game, home work, and the basketball tournament.

Even if we came to realize that there was a huge opportunity to make a difference in someone's life by volunteering, who's got the time? We've packed our lives with so much stuff that there is absolutely no margin to do anything else. So we don't. Feeling terrible about our self-absorbed manic lives because we know this is not what life is supposed to be about.

And the question of the day is - WHY DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES???