Boundaries

Matthew 5:33-37 (NLT)
33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

There are the words of Jesus as He preaches The Sermon on the Mount. The important lesson Christ is teaching here is not to make promises that might be kept or might be broken. Instead understand your own limitations and boundaries and either say, “Yes I will or No I won’t”.

Good personal boundaries serve a purpose in our life. In fact God had a boundary with Abraham when He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham kept pleading, “What if I find this number of righteous people?” When God said NO that was His final answer. Until then God allowed interaction with Abraham. So God wants us to interact with Him through prayer just as we are to interact with people in conversation on boundaries. It is a part of building a relationship with another person. The Bible tells us to give cheerfully from the heart, but if we are unsure when to say no, then it makes saying yes confusing and leads to resentment, bitterness and anger. Imagine saying YES to every request that comes along. Eventually you would be burned out from giving too much of yourself or broke from giving everything away. There should be a healthy balance where we can give cheerfully from the heart and say NO without confusion. Sometimes people will have differing boundaries, and each should respect the boundaries of the other and compromise when proper and suitable. But always make sure your Yes is a firm Yes and your No is a firm No when you reach a decision. Pray God will help you see healthy boundaries in your life.