“Mr. Bugsy’s gotten out!” I panicked last week when I went to feed my rabbits. Mr. Bugsy is a Flemish Giant my daughter gave me last Christmas. This species tops out at 35-40 lbs., and I had always wanted one. With his two powerful back feet, he apparently stomped the bottom wire out his cage and escaped. We made futile efforts all week trying to catch him. But he was enjoying his new found freedom. I admit that he looked nice grazing around the back lawn. However, our yard adjoins woods that are full of coyotes. He liked the freedom, but he had no clue about all the dangers. Saturday morning we finally got him safely back in his cage. Despite his desire to roam free, it is necessary to set limitations and boundaries for him because of the dangers. Otherwise, he would soon become some predator’s lunch and maybe even dinner.
We are all probably a bit like Mr. Bugsy and do not like boundaries. Yet, they are part of the laws of nature instituted by God. You have established all the boundaries of the earth (Psa 74:17). If you stick your hand on hot stove, then you will be burned, because you crossed a boundary in the laws of nature. The LORD also put divine boundaries in place. The first one we encounter is in the Garden of Eden. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:16, 17). God set this limitation including a penalty for crossing it. After Adam and Eve violated that boundary, God put another limitation in place. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24). They could no longer enter the garden. All through Scripture, we find boundaries and limitations that God has established.
I have counseled people who believed freedom in Christ meant all boundaries were removed based on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1). However, this simply means we are free from our sin nature and the legalistic aspects of the Law, in order to serve Him. God set boundaries for our good and protection. We learn them through Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is essential we know His boundaries and live within them because life is filled with ‘spiritual coyotes’. As finite beings, we are not even aware of the threats around us. Just as I knew the perils my rabbit could encounter without the limitation of his cage, God sees the dangers we face and if we listen and obey Him, He will protect us.
In addition to God’s boundaries, we must also establish personal boundaries. Work ethics; sexual purity; attitudes; emotions; behavior; etc., are treasures that if we do place within boundaries, both Satan and people will not steal them. Two that should be at the top of our list is time with our families and our relationship with God. A lot of church leaders operate by the old adage that if you want something accomplished then find a busy man, or woman. The problem with this mindset is believers, especially new Christians, may not even be aware they need to set boundaries. Thus, they will be stretched beyond their capability, get worn out, and eventually burnout. I always taught my ministerial students that the most important word in ministry is ‘no’. I learned this painful lesson from experience. The devil is successful when we either do nothing or get so involved we are ineffective in everything.
Personal boundaries define who we are, and also defines who we aren’t. They show what we value. In my last Associate Pastor position, I told the Senior Pastor in the beginning that I would not stay in the church building for seventy hours a week as I had done in a previous church. I learned to value my time with my family and my personal time with the God. I set my boundaries and stuck with them. If we do not establish values with boundaries and guard them, we will merely drift along with the crowd. Even with set limitations, we must be vigilant because the devil and other people are constantly trying to invade our boundaries and destroy our values. People who are not where they should be with the LORD tend to resent and attack the values of those who are striving to follow God’s word. At times, we may stand alone in our fenced area. Paul said that at his first defense in Rome he stood alone for his values—the Gospel—because . . . all deserted me (2 Ti 4:17). But note the next verse, But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me (v18). We are never alone when we are in obedience to God—He is standing with us.
As I wrote this week, I also began building Mr. Bugsy a new cage. It is much larger and has a ramp allowing him to go down into a fenced area on the lawn. This space on the ground is wired on the sides, top, and bottom. He will be safe and have more freedom. When we follow God’s word and His leading we will say as David in the Psalms, The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places (Psalms 16:6).
SUSTAINING WORD FOR THE WEEK: Learn God’s boundaries and establish your own boundaries; they will guard you against the coyotes. Real freedom is within God’s fence.