Margin isn’t a fancy concept. It’s just extra space. It’s the extra space on the edge of the paper that’s due tomorrow morning. Is it supposed to be one inch, or an inch and a half?
It’s the space between your car and the next one in the parking lot… the space that’s supposed to be big enough for you to open your door without doing damage to his.
It’s the extra money in your checking account that keeps you from bouncing a check when you take $20 out at the ATM and forget to record it.
Vince Antonucci says margin is the difference between my could and my should.
Normally I live my life like there’s no space or difference between the two. Shouldn’t we do everything we can? Shouldn’t we do all we could? We work all the hours available. We join all the clubs and groups that exist. We say no to nothing. We go everywhere. We do everything. We do it right now.
When the margin is narrow or non-existent, there’s no room to love like Jesus loved. There’s no time to help the person in need.
I was a busy campus minister for a number of years. I always had somewhere to go. I was often in a hurry. I remember one day—and I was so proud of myself—I decided to walk to a meeting instead of drive. After all, it was probably about the same amount of time when you figured in traffic and circling endlessly for a parking space.
Except… that day as I was walking across campus, I passed a girl on the sidewalk whose bicycle had broken down along Washington Street. I had my multi-tool in my pocket—all the right tools to fix her problem. I could have helped. But I didn’t. I just kept walking. I had someplace to be, and I was already late. No margin. No love. If you’re out there, whoever you are with the bike, I’m sorry.
Margin is about making choices in life. Often it’s not choices between what’s good and what’s bad, or what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s choices between what’s important and what’s really important.
Jon Acuff tells the story of a friend of his who chose to work 8 hours a day instead of 10 like most of his colleagues. The friend learned that because of his decision, his bonus would be reduced by a couple thousand dollars.
So the equation is simple, [after taxes] his company offered him $1,500 for 500 hours of his time. But Dwayne decided that hanging out with his wife and child was worth $3 an hour. He decided that if someone offered him 10 more hours a week with his family for only $30 he would take it.
So he didn’t lose $2,000. He paid $3 an hour to get to know his kids during a period of their lives that is fleeting and fast. Would you make the same decision?
Margin is that simple. It’s the daily choice to leave space for what’s really important. It’s the space that gives you the freedom to stop and help, and to love like Jesus loves.
Read more in this series: Selah, Walk: The Speed of Love, and Sabbath.
