In business, every manager or company owner is intimately concerned about the financial margin at the end of the month, quarter and year. Margin is the net income after all expenses that allows for future business development. Without margin, the company may survive for a while but it certainly will not thrive.

In family, financial margin is important as well. Dad and mom have to stay on top of expenses to manage the household balance sheet. The same is true with TIME. The difference is that while you may be able to borrow money to create financial margin for at least a while, there is no borrowing of time. It passes hour by hour, day by day. It takes intentionality to create margin within the boundary of time available.

“For if you keep silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:14. Haman had coerced King Xerxes to issue a decree that called for the annihilation of all the Jews in the kingdom. Mordecai, a father-figure to Esther after she lost both her mom and dad, sent this message to the queen with the charge to take a stand for her people. She could have responded with, “I am too BUSY with my royal responsibilities and enjoying my new lifestyle to worry about the plight of the people.” Rather, she showed respect for Mordecai and compassion for her people. There was a realization that she would have to create margin that would give her strength and boldness to enter the king’s presence without being summoned. She replied to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews … and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” - 4:15. The king extended his gold scepter to Queen Esther and the destruction Haman had sought to carry out against the Jews was turned on him. The margin created by fasting provided the clarity, strength and boldness for Esther to take a stand. Fasting and prayer are not just Biblical practices, they are spiritual disciplines. Add the discipline of daily time in Scripture to fasting and prayer, and clarity, strength and boldness will result. This is needed to stand against cultural pressures at work to destroy marriages and family. The charge is to create margin to raise the generation entrusted to us.

Tips to create margin:

• Practice the spiritual disciplines of daily time in Scripture and prayer;
• Introduce routine fasting as a complement to other spiritual disciplines;
• Dialogue and pray together as husband and wife, as you review the family calendar and commitments; Include the children as appropriate;
• Agree on what to say, ‘No’ to and what course corrections need to be made – it may be as simple as giving up a hobby, or as major as making a job or career change.

Prayer guide: Thank You Lord for Your word and the clarity it provides. I confess I have succumbed to a reactive mode of BUSYness in family. Forgive me. Help me initiate the spiritual disciplines needed to create the margin needed to help lead my family with a focus on the right stuff.  I want to raise the next generation well by Your grace and for Your glory. That is the dad You call me to be, and that’s the dad my kids need to see. Amen.

A faithful father creates margin to raise the next generation well.