Living in the life margin

By Jeremy Morgado

Special to the Appeal

In today's society, we love to watch people on TV push themselves to the limit. There is something intriguing and interesting about watching an individual push themselves physically and emotionally to the point of breaking.

However, in real life, there is nothing funny about living a life that is maxed-out to the limit.

A life that lives with the reality of one mistake financially and there is no way we are going to make it. One malfunction in our schedule and everything that needs to be done will not get done.

However, these maxed-out, pushed-to-the-limit, one-mistake-and-its-over life situations are all around us, maybe even a part of us. They cause us all to look and ask, "is this really how God intended for us to live?" The answer to that question is simply: No.

In fact, it's completely the opposite of what God desires for you and I. God wants you and I to live a life that has "margin" built into it.

What is margin? Let me explain it this way: Have you ever seen a piece of paper that was filled up with words on every inch of available space? How did it look? Chaotic? Disorganized? Maybe even a little frustrating? Or have you driven down a road that seemed too small for your vehicle? Did you feel a little anxious? Jumpy? Stressed? Did you get angry at the person who made the road?

Margin is the extra space in our life. It's the cushion between our current performance and our breaking point. For many of us, if we stop and think about it, these same emotions arise in us everyday as we face the ever-increasing pressure to make everything fit into our lives. God never intended for us to live maxed-out because He knows that we cannot sustain a healthy, fulfilled life when we are pushed to the limit.

Margin is important to God because He knows that as our life-margin decreases, as we try to cram as much as we can into our schedules and finances, our relationship with Him and the people we love decreases. Quality, life-changing relationships are developed and maintained in the margin of life.

In Matthew chapter 22, Jesus stated that the two most important things in life are to love God and to love people. When we choose to live a life without margin, we push the two most important things out of our lives.

As Valentine's Day approaches and you are trying to figure out what to give that special someone, I suggest that the greatest gift you can give to those whom you love is a life lived within the margins God created for you to live. Life-margin will cause your relationships with God and those around you to grow to their fullest potential, giving you the life you have always wanted.

• Jeremy Morgado is with Uprising Student Ministries at Capital Christian Center and a member of the Carson City Ministerial Fellowship.