Living Well Within Our Boundaries

I was out for a morning walk, contemplating life as I know it. A thunderstorm the night before wreaked havoc emitting hail from the clutches of the clouds. I pondered the dichotomy of beauty around me juxtaposed to the detriment the night before. Blooms peaked through from their hiding places. Blades of grass upheld droplets of water, thankful for the nourishment. Thick humidity hung in the atmosphere. Gone were the winds of yesterday. Stillness enveloped the morning. Or so I thought.

The dog came out of nowhere. Ferocious barking shattered my pensive thoughts. After my initial jolt of shock, my gait slowed so as not to make any sudden movements to lure this creature into attack mode.

I maneuvered to the other side of the road as deftly as possible, my outward movement much opposed to the hysteria happening inside me as the barking crescendoed.

That’s when I saw it. The collar. The yard contained an invisible fence, and crossing over that boundary line meant sure consequence for the dog. Maybe that lesson had been hard learned, and the reminder of the pain experienced in pursuit of what lay beyond the boundary disallowed the dog from going any further. Desire burned in the dog’s eyes, but truth prevailed. Breaking boundaries comes at a price.

The term boundary can bear negative connotations in today’s culture. ‘Rules were made to be broken’ or ‘it was all in good fun’ are cliches referenced to gloss over personal deviations.

Boundaries. Are the choices I’m making in keeping with God’s best for me, or am I jumping the invisible fence and living in perpetual consequence?

I’ve experienced the consequences of invisible fence jumping. Anxiety induced short, snippy responses to those I love dearly. Stolen clarity of thought. Depression. Pain.

I find myself identifying with Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

How can we live well within our boundaries?

Hebrews 12:1-3 gives us a good point of reference, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

To honor boundaries well, realization of the sin that so easily entraps is paramount. Temptation, the lure of breaking the boundary, is not sinful in itself. But obedience to the boundary must follow.

Hebrews 12:11 further imparts that, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

The dog vehemently voiced its disdain, recognizing the boundary so desperately desired to be broken. Discipline. Obedience to the boundary. Peace from being trained by it.

May that be the driving factor in living well within our boundaries.

Father God, Help me live well within my boundaries. Help me see Your glory all around me and not be caught in temptation’s trap. Center my focus on You, where my help comes from.

Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.