On the day after the day after, many returned to work. Some to half empty parking lots as coworkers enjoyed scheduled vacations in between the holidays. For those who returned it was “how did it go”, “what did you get” or “where did you go”? Then back to the familiar tasks at hand.
Each day we venture forth to enter the place of the paycheck. It’s not a bad thing. The scriptures commend to us that if a man does not work he shall not eat. God from the beginning intended us to labor. For a variety of reasons we labor where we do. One hundred years ago very few women were found earning any sort of income outside of the home anywhere in the world. Today America is one of many countries where a woman earning an income in the workplace outside of their home is the norm. “Times are hard and we need two incomes to pay the bills”. I have heard it so many times. “I had to go to work, he doesn’t make enough for the things I want”. Yes and a multitude of like reasoning.
I am in the same boat. Based on decisions we have made and a failure to allow pragmatism to have a role in our lives, we are where we are and my wife works as well. She is good at what she does and earns about 25% of our income. Why do I sound a bit discouraged as I write this? We struggle to share the household chores and find time for each other. Our interests are much further apart than when we jumped on this merry go round. I see people everyday flirting with disaster as their natural human affection is poured out toward someone who is not their spouse simply because they are available. Divorce is more common than marriage and fidelity is laughed at. The moral compass is gone and everyone’s oar is going in a different direction.
So what? That’s life in the twenty first century. I don’t have time to work on the car because I’m doing the dishes. She can’t cook dinner because she’s buying stuff to see what part of her life it enriches. SO what? Did you expect to stay married till death you do part? Everyone has an ex or two, should you be grateful all her kids come from you?
What a sad, sad state we are in. I wish I could but I can’t. I can’t make it different, not even for me. She thinks I’m trying to cheat her out of life. I think it is too late for me to do that. It has already been done.
Life was not meant to be about all you can get or have or own. Life is meant to be about relationship. Poor is good if love is there. Rich is too if wealth is not your care. Jesus said work and love and don’t put on airs. Do I understand? Yes I think I do. It is like this: our need has been exceeded by our greed. A wise man once told me “when you outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will be your downfall”. We have exceeded. We have fallen, we need a savior and His name is not Mr. President.