Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

I was busy most of the weekend refinishing a dining room table we found at a thrift store. I have done so much sanding, I no longer have any fingerprints. (I guess it is a very good time to start my life of crime!) Needing a break, I brushed the sawdust from my clothes and joined the family in the living room, just in time for the second hour of Extreme Home Makeover. I enjoyed the break but it also made me think about why the show is so popular.

They make it very entertaining with their quirky designers and humorous stunts. It is neat to see what builders with enough resources and imagination can pull off, even with severe time limitations. The before and after shots are always breathtaking and the music does its very best to pull your heartstrings to the point of infarction. It is also nice to see things change for a family down on their luck.

There is no doubt that it is great television but I wonder if people like seeing someone on the receiving end of a big jackpot simply because it helps validate their own hidden hope that someday they too will be in a similar position. Call it the lottery mindset. It is funny but I think people in general are ok with watching someone across the nation receive this kind of endowment, but would be very jealous if it were the next door neighbor who won the lottery or the person on the next slot machine with the jackpot pull.

I don't watch the show every week, but I'll admit that I'm slightly disturbed by how lavish the end result has become. I'm not at all opposed to anyone having or receiving nice stuff. However, my observation is that each week seems an attempt to outdo what was accomplished the week before. It is no longer about meeting the human need for a secure shelter with some very nice extras or accomodations to meet a special need. It now includes scholarships and giant cash payouts. Again, this is not sour grapes at all. I'm just thinking about why people like watching the show and also about how long it will last.

It seems to me that as the makeovers become more and more extreme, there will come a point where the show will simply disappear because the price becomes too high. It would be better (in my opinion) to have a larger number of more modest makeovers. They can still be nice (extreme if you will) without being mega-hyper-extreme. The other question which always enters my mind is that I would like to see the state of the homes and of these families one or two years down the road after their makeover. How are they doing now? What kind of difference did their home upgrade make in their lives? Have they been able to maintain the home? Have they been able to afford the taxes after their next tax appraisal?

I guess I'm thinking that it is pretty easy to makeover a room or a home. It is much more difficult to makeover a life. Every change I've made in my own life has involved a serious battle; every inch of ground gained has been hard fought. My own 'Extreme Throne Makeover' would not make entertaining television. It is just me dealing with bad habits, fighting to keep my thought life under control, and learning to die to self and serve my family in the areas where it doesn't come naturally.

The designers on the show always explain how this room or feature or scholarship would 'change their life.' I'm just curious if it really does.