“No I do NOT!”

At least that is what I thought when the preacher brought this subject up recently. I don’t remember the topic of the sermon. (Stop judging me.)

I just remember him saying, “We all have margin.”

He clarified. Even though I don’t feel like I do have margin, I do. See, for most of us reading this post, we all are figuring out what to do with our extra time and money. We are not preoccupied with where we are going to live and what we are going to eat.

This means you have margin.

“I don’t get it.” Well, the point is you do not have to spend all day everyday figuring out how you are going to eat that day. Nor do you have to worry about having a roof over your head. You get to decide how you are going to spend your time and money for other things. That’s called “margin.”

There are exceptions, I’m sure. However, most of us, even if we lost all of our money, would find a way to not sleep outside and get our regular meals in. Margin.

So what do we do with this?
Here are a few suggestions:

1) Embrace it as truth.

2) Stop complaining about not having margin.

3) Take control of our time and money. If I fill up my schedule or spend all my money, it is my fault. That is me forfeiting my margin.

4) Plan for margin. Life happens. Stop overfilling your cup.

Margin is important. It keeps us from spinning out of control. Embrace it and use it for good.

What about you? What is your initial response to being told you have margin? Please share on social media or in the comments below.

(There may be an unquoted quotation from my pastor above, but it is unclear from my notes. My mind was spinning at the time so I may have left the quotes out.)