In the United States of America, there is a well-known city nicknamed, ‘Sin City.’ It is a renowned destination with a reputation and tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment, casinos, bars, salacious theatre, and luxurious resorts.
Many who visit that city say, “What goes on in _____ stays in________.” Meaning, it is too revealing and incriminating to talk about after the fact.
It is a popular place for “letting go” and “letting things rip” where “nothing is off limits” with regards to pleasure and hedonistic hysteria.
Of course, there are many places in the world that could fit that description as well, and each of them are filled with establishments whose primary goal is to induce visitors to cast off all restraints and to have a ‘good’ (wild and unrestrained) time.
Most individuals who make these places their destination for vacation or get away do so with a mindset of being in an environment where there are few or no boundaries to restrict them from their wildest unbridled passions.
Because of these types of places, there has been a rise in trafficking throughout the world, and young and old have become slaves to a hideous and cruel lifestyle at the hands of wicked, and demonized men and women who have enslaved them for filthy ill-gotten gain.
This was the condition of the twin cities Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-21; 19:1-29). There were no boundaries in those cities, and the inhabitants had given themselves over to wicked behavior with no sense of remorse. God, as Just and Holy Creator and Judge, had to destroy them so their pollution would not spread throughout the region and vex others.
Today we hear activists vehemently espousing for the removal of walls and boundaries along city and national borders. Others are not only activists for removing national boundaries, but also for removing boundaries parents have set for their children. It is quite interesting how many of these activists have walled and fenced properties with security gates and cameras to protect them.
Hopefully, you can see by now, there must be boundaries in life. Boundaries give us a sense of security. They give us a clear description of where our responsibility begins and ends.
A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. Proverbs 19:19
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Proverbs 27:22
Boundaries provide healthy limits on how long we should take on a project for a friend, or how often we should bail someone out of trouble, or how much time and effort we should place on a troublesome relationship that could rob us of peace, finances, physical and emotional health. Some people must come to the end of themselves before they are willing to listen and change. Neither you nor I can hasten that decision.
Of course, if the Lord is leading us to stay at some arduous task, relationship, or situation, we do it in obedience to Him, and His grace will see us through. Otherwise, we are burning the candle on both ends and something will have to give.
Boundaries on exerting our will on others.
We cannot impose our will on others, even if we feel it is good advice (according to us). That is totally outside our boundary. Each of us has a God-given right to choose the course of our life, and even our eternal destination. As a friend, family member, or co-worker, we can only share with others (if they are open) our wisdom, views, or insights, and then let them decide their own course of action. We are not responsible for their decisions.
Every God given authority has boundaries.
The bible instructs children to be obedient to their parents, but it does not license parents to be cruel or inhumane to them. It instructs wives to submit to their husbands but not to be door mats of abuse, unlawful behavior, or hostility. It instructs us to obey our employers, and government authorities, but not at the expense of disobeying God.
There must be boundaries. Without them we will have unbalanced lives headed for destructive behavior and undesirable outcomes.
Most of us would agree the alcoholic and drug addict lack boundaries through their substance abuse. Nevertheless, we may be weak in setting our own boundaries. We may lack boundaries with overeating, talking too much, binging on sports, social media, TV, or reckless and unrestrained shopping sprees.
Which reminds me of a story I heard of a woman who liked to shop with her affluent friend. Although she did not have the money to ‘keep up with the Jone’s’, she lacked discipline and honesty to tell her friend she could not afford shopping with her all the time.
Soon she started receiving notices of bounced (insufficient funds) checks from her bank and went to her pastor to ask for prayer that the bank would not charge her the usual overdraft fees. He kindly rebuked her and told her she had to deal with her lust, greed, and pride and live within her means.
Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. Proverbs 25:28
He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. Ecclesiastes 10:8
There are detrimental consequences for not having proper boundaries, of which some are internal and external pain and discord. Lacking godly boundaries leads to undue mental and emotional stress and fatigue on ourselves and others.
God never intended us to live without boundaries. He gave boundaries to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and then set new boundaries after they sinned.
Before Adam Sinned
15) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:15-17
After Adam Sinned
22) Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— 23) therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24) So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24
Ask the Father for wisdom in establishing godly boundaries in every area of your life. It will benefit you and those around you.
We will continue to look at boundaries in our next post. Until then, may God our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, richly bless and keep you.
James Brown
CST 08/21/2024
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