Are you physically depleted at the end of the day? Is your “emotional tank” on fumes at the end of the week? Is there more month than paycheck? Is time with God and with family being “edged out” by the urgent and unimportant? If you have answered “yes” to any of these, then you are not alone. These are symptoms of little or no margin in our lives. Perhaps we need to start with a simple but important question . . .

How can I create margin in my life?

First, let’s define margin. According to Richard Swenson, M.D., margin is “The space between our load and our limit. It is the amount allowed beyond that what is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Margin is the gap between rest and exhaustion, the space between breathing freely and suffocating . . . the opposite of overload.” (Swenson, p. 69)  

Could you imagine if your Bible had no margins on its pages, with print crammed from top to bottom and side to side, so that every blank space was filled up? It would be nearly impossible to read. When our lives lack margin, we are unable to function in a healthy way. There’s nothing left for what or who matters most. 

What does living with margin look like?

For the purposes of this article, I’d like to focus on three key principles of margin found in scripture: Sabbath keeping, generosity and caring for the poor.

First, we are to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

This is the Fourth Commandment. Jesus obeyed this command and modeled before his disciples. 

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

(Exodus 20:8-11)

Second, God’s word says a whole lot about giving and generosity.

We are called to give our first and best to the Lord: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10) When we are faithful in this way, we are giving God the first 10 percent and trusting God with the other 90 percent. When we give faithfully, consistently and proportionately, we are depending on God’s providence to help us live with margin. Margin with our finances enables us to do more with less and to give freely to God’s kingdom work. 

Finally, margin is at the very heart of loving thy neighbor.

When we live with margin, God enables us to share our resources with others. This became clearer to me in the Old Testament reading for today (February 26^th) in The One Year Bible. It’s from Leviticus 19:9-10 and states, “⁹“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.”  Here, the Israelites were to leave “margin” in their harvests so as to provide for the poor. 

Margin enables us to live with less stress, worry and fear. It frees us to focus on who and what is best. Please take time to pray about margin in your life. Be honest with yourself and then set some reasonable and attainable goals. Celebrate the small wins and begin to see the benefit of a margin-filled life. 

In Christ’s care and love,