Monday, February 08, 2010

Good Boundaries


Dr. Neil Anderson in his book Daily In Christ, speaks of the boundaries of our conduct in light of God's will. 1 Corinthians 6:12 tells us that everything is good and lawful because we are free from sin and no longer under the condemnation of the law. So, like the hiker above, we are free to go to the edge and dangle our feet without any fences to hold us back. But sometimes it's more subtle things that get us into trouble. The little foxes spoiling the vine. More like wandering away from the safe path or climbing a fence into the pasture of a bull, rather than falling off the edge of a cliff. Our own actions in less dramatic ways can sometimes cause us to wrongly take good things beyond the boundary of God's will. Examples?
physical rest becomes laziness
ability to profit becomes avarice and greed
enjoyment of life becomes intemperance
physical pleasure becomes sensuality
interest in the possessions of others becomes covetousness
enjoyment of food becomes gluttony
self-care becomes selfishness
self-respect becomes conceit
communication becomes gossip
cautiousness becomes unbelief
anger becomes rage and bad temper
lovingkindness becomes overprotection
judgment becomes criticism
sexual freedom becomes immorality
conscientiousness becomes perfectionism
generosity becomes wastefulness
self-protection becomes dishonesty
carefulness becomes fear
How do you ensure balance in life? To do what is profitable without being mastered by anything, even good things? What boundaries do you set?

1 comment:

  1. Great post you got here. It would be great to read something more concerning that matter. Thanx for giving this material.

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