Recently I was asked what impact boundaries have had on my life. I realized boundaries can impact everything. Boundaries represent the choices we make daily, usually choosing between right and wrong. Breaching boundaries can set our lives on a course that we do not want to go. To not cross boundaries is definitely something we can pray for our kids whether adult or young.
Right now, God is teaching me that there is a #1 boundary. Jesus even talks about this boundary as being #1. I learned it from the reverse angle in the verse, James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Resisting the devil is really setting a boundary to not sin. As it says in the Lord’s prayer, we can pray not to fall “into temptation” and to be “delivered from evil.” But not sinning is almost impossible! The Bible says, “All have sinned.” How can we possibly resist the devil and not sin?
Interestingly, the first part of that verse tells us how. The whole verse says, “Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It gives us the answer. The only way to resist the devil is to submit ourselves to God. How great it is! God fights the battle for us! Only God can defeat Satan. In fact, He has already defeated him through what Jesus did on the cross! So, we already have victory, if we choose God! This is, of course, in the big picture, but it applies to the choices every day. As Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways submit to God, and He will direct your paths.”
How is this the #1 boundary? Jesus says the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) While on earth Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15) So the #1 boundary is to know God and love Him – staying within His loving commands. Living outside God’s commands is sin. Said differently, setting a boundary of being “imitators of God”, as the Bible asks us, following Jesus and doing His will, is # 1. We are not to cross the line outside of God’s plan. How do we know, more specifically, where that line or boundary is? The question we can ask is, “Does it match the Bible?” If your decision matches up with what is right to do in the Bible, then you’re safe.
Avoiding the line with you,
Natalie Jones
Founder & President
Parent Compass
