Why are boundaries necessary?
Because God is behind the concept of boundaries. According to the Bible, this need is fundamental in the creation of mankind. God created us to be free, and to act responsibly with our freedom. He wanted us to be in control of ourselves, and to have a good existence. He was behind that idea all along.
But as we all know, we misused our freedom, and as a result, lost it. With the loss of freedom came the loss of self-control. The results of losing self-control are displayed in a wide variety of miseries. Consider a few of the alternatives to self-control:
- Controlling relationships where people try to control each other
- Faith that is practiced out of guilt and drudgery instead of freedom and love
- Being motivated by guilt, anger and fear instead of love
- The inability to gain control of our own behavior and solve problems in our lives
- The loss of control to addictive processes
- These are to name just a few. It is no wonder why the need for Boundaries is felt so deeply
In fact, these issues are so dear to the heart of God, He says it was one of the motivators for the sacrifice of Christ Himself: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Jesus died to set us free: from sin, from the devil, from the world around us. And that is the essence of what Boundaries teach—freedom.
