Are you clear about the boundaries you’ve drawn in you’re life?
We set boundaries for all sorts of things in our lives only to break them hours later. My worship guys at our church are always setting food boundaries, specifically pizza boundaries, which they never keep. Maybe you have set boundaries connected to the food you eat, the number of weekly counseling sessions you will offer, how many hours you will work a day, or how many nights you will be away from home. Your attempts may have fallen short so many times that you think, “What’s the point?” Our failures have resulted in a life without boundaries. Should we simply neglect to set boundaries because we have a history of breaking them? I think not.
Even though we struggle to keep simple boundaries we must be persistent in identifying them for our success. Here’s why.
1. A lack of initiation always ends in abundant failure.
If you just hope to be successful in life without clear and measurable plans you will fall short. Very few people in our world just end up successful without hard work, discipline, and a measurable plan. We tend to think success in our sexual integrity will one day fall out of the sky. Maybe you are waiting until your sex drive subsides or your spouse becomes sexually charged. The problem is this may never happen or by the time it does you may have done un-repairable damage to yourself and your relationships.
It is time to take the initiative. It is time to set boundaries of your own and devise a plan for success. What are you waiting for? Most of us know what boundaries we need to set up because we have counseled countless people to success. Now is time for you to make the change inside of you! Enough talking. It is time for some actions to back up your words.
“Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything?” [JAMES 2:14]
Stop right now and initiate some new boundaries in your life that will actually HELP you become more Godly. Why are you still reading? STOP NOW AND MAKE A SHORT LIST.
Now read on…
2. If you don’t set boundaries someone will set them for you.
“A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” [JOHN 10:10]
John reminds us of two extremely important points in chapter 10. First, there is an enemy that will do anything to deceive and distract you from God’s purposes and plans. This enemy will take advantage of your lack of discipline and lead you into a life of loose boundaries. He will attempt to convince you that boundaries with women or men in your church are unnecessary. He will attempt to convince you that your will power alone is strong enough to overcome temptation. He will convince you that little steps away from God’s ideal life won’t hurt you. Just like with Adam and Eve he will not stop until you have ruined God’s intentions for your life. As Christian leaders, we cannot allow this to happen. People are looking at you, learning from you, and duplicating your boundaries in their lives. We must set the example. If we deny the need for boundaries in our lives the Devil will fill the void with unhealthy boundaries. We cannot leave the power in evil’s hands.
Second, John tells us that following God’s boundaries and plans leads to a better life than we could ever dream of. God wants to see you succeed. He wants to see the Kingdom advance and evil fail. He has stopped at nothing to give you the tools, the desire, and the ability to do it. Place Jesus at the center of your life and build boundaries around Him. Jesus himself gives us confidence to endure all storms that will come our way.
“If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.” [MATTHEW 7:25]
Take the initiative today and set clear boundaries based on Jesus teaching and life. If you refuse to get serious about identifying your boundaries then the Devil will set them for you. Experience the abundant life Jesus speaks about in the scriptures by drawing clear boundaries. Share your new list of boundaries with a close trusted friend in the next 5 days.