Definition: a Boundary is a property line that separates you from another person
Two types:
External
Internal
Four Key Areas where we NEED to Set Boundaries
1. Friendship
– Healthy friendships are reciprocal.
– Healthy friendships involve limits. (Luke 10:25-35)
‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ (v.35)
2. Family
– Families are where we learn about boundaries.
– Learning to say “no” is a very important exercise for the development of every human being.
– One reason we don’t say no; when we did, love was withdrawn.
– Children need to be able to say “no”, but they also need to learn to hear “No.”
– In addition to the law of individual responsibility, children need to understand the law of sowing & reaping. (Galatians 6:7)
– Families get in trouble, when parents take inappropriate responsibility for their children’s’ problems.
3. Work
There is a time to say yes to work, and there is a time to say no to work.
– When you are at work, work.(Eccl 9:10)
– Work wholeheartedly.
Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord,(Colossians 3:23)
– If you are overworked or obsessed with work, you need to draw a boundary.
4. Spiritual
Saying yes to God means saying no to anything that gets in the way of following him.
– Moses, Aaron and the Golden Calf : (Exodus 32)
– Boundary Challenges:
1. Instead of trusting and waiting, we want to create gods that we can control.
2. Will I take responsibility for my actions?
If you have crossed a boundary, your healing will not start until you say, “I did it.” Jesus (Mark 1:35-38)
Sometimes saying “yes” to God means saying “no” to pressures, to demands, to temptations And sometimes it means saying no to people.
