Boundaries

 

This screen capture from Google Maps shows a number of boundary examples. Saginaw and Blue Mound are cities, as is Pelican Bay and Haslet. They - as does every other city - have boundaries that define where their city begins and ends. The Eagle Mountain Lake has boundaries that keep the water from flowing downstream - a dam, and higher ground keep the water in specific locations - except for drought, which changes where water is found. There are parks, shown in green, and specific roads. The interstate has controlled access, so does US 287, to a lesser extent.

All these are defined in different ways, but you'll have to admit the ground you are on has boundaries. The USA had a porous boundary in its southern border which caused a split across the country, as well as millions of people who no longer had a country they could rely upon.

Marriage has boundaries. In fact, marriage was created with rules that govern it. According to those who believe the Bible to be true, Jesus defined what the original marriage was to be in it's example for all of mankind:

The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (Matthew 19:3-8)

There are many helps online that are places for women who believe marriage is for a lifetime - but are married to men who take advantage of that. In a few cases, that dynamic is reversed and the woman takes advantage, but the major remains women who are given boundaries by their husbands, and he has none. Dr. Henry Cloud is one who provided assistance to a couple of women I knew in that situation. Boundaries were necessary.

In one, the husband found an answer in the Bible and made it known to all he met. The other discarded the Bible and created his own religion that allows him to do anything he desires. The wife in the first situation continued her marriage and both grew in wisdom and in favor. The second situation ended in divorce. The woman went on to a second marriage, while the man shipwrecked his life to such an extent that more than one trip to jail ensued due to his actions.

The big difference between these two examples is setting and accepting boundaries in life. Basically, that is all our christianity calls for - setting and accepting boundaries.

Jesus mentioned two in Matthew:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Amazing, isn't it, that all the law, all the prophets, all of the Bible comes down to two laws. Our decisions can be determined within God's plans if we first consider the effect on Him, then the effect on people. We should remember that we are someone else's example. Whatever we do, we do it in front of someone we know, or strangers. Seldom do we act totally on our own. With our actions, we apply our own boundaries - or boundaries we pick up from somewhere. First place we pick up boundaries are from our families.

Being born into a family without boundaries is considered a detriment to our development. It does happen. That will impact education first, then it will affect the rest of our lives. People born into overly scheduled lives have different problems, but both extremes will reach a turning point in life, a place or time where a choice is made, a fork in the road.

I'm asking that you become aware of that choice. Did you make a choice to live your life for good? Did that choice include - or decline - God? Frankly, that isn't a one-time-no-out choice. People have more than one opportunity to seek God's boundaries in life. They make life much better:

\Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)