Boundaries
ex. These two trees mark the boundary of our property.
ex. The mountain range that forms the country's northern boundary.
Dictionary.com defines bounds or boundaries as something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding line.
When we talk of boundaries in our relationships with one another, we are not talking about some abstract concept or nebulous (ambiguous) terminology. Quite the contrary. What we are describing is the places where we feel comfortable and the places where we feel uncomfortable. Our specific boundaries are individualistic to an extent, of course, making the concept seem abstract, but in terms of proxemics as defined by cultures, boundaries are very distinct.
The American culture simply does not understand, much less apply the concept of boundaries. We live in an in your face culture that does not respect privacy. And as a result, we are very miserable people as others overstep our boundaries on a daily basis. Add to the no respect for privacy and the inability to simply listen to others when they are trying to communicate their boundaries and you have a recipe for explosive and volatile people. Respect communicates love and privacy keeps the mystery alive. There is no reason why boundaries should be overstepped unless you are dealing with a tyrant or a control freak who is abusive and does not know how to simply respect others.
A boundary is not a hard concept to grasp. A child can understand when a parent tells them no and so that's why we set them with our children and we must be consistent if we want to raise decent, respectable adults. We set them with our spouses and significant others if we don't want to be controlled, abused, or disrespected. We set them with our co-workers and bosses if we don't want to be walked all over and taken advantage of. We set them with our families to maintain respect and love as we grow older and become more individualistic. Political leaders set them with other nations so as to maintain peace and prevent war. Simply put, boundaries are essential and fundamental to life, liberty, and respect.
Consider what God hath said concerning boundaries:
- Exodus 23:31. "And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert into the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and thou shalt drive them out before me (KJV)."
- Deuteronomy 32:8."When the Most High divided to the Nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel (KJV)."
- Job 14:5. "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass (KJV)."
- Job 26:10. "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end (KJV)."
- Psalm 104:9. "Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth (KJV)."
- Jeremiah 5:22. "Fear ye not me? Saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?(KJV)."
- Hosea 5:10. "The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will put out my wrath upon them like water (KJV)."
- Acts 17:26."And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation (KJV)."
Clearly God has a lot to say about boundaries. He invented the concept. The last scripture is the most poignant. As you may recall, the apostle Paul was giving his sermon on Mars Hill while traveling through Thessalonica and Athens, "this carefully crafted evangelistic sermon does not quote an Old Testament unfamiliar to pagan Greeks, but uses a philosopher's approach to lead hearers to the central truth of Paul's message: the resurrection of Jesus (Richards 724). The city-state, Athens, was known for its intellectual prowess and there were many who prided themselves in religious concepts and philosophies such as agnosticism. There on Mars Hill stood a giant monument ascribed to an Unknown God. Paul saw this as an opportunity to speak of this unknown God who appoints nations and men and determines their boundaries in which they can not pass, "Paul's strategy was to seek a point of contact, which here was an alter dedicated to an "unknown god, and to discuss the nature of God and His relationship to the creation, showing that even Greek poets and philosophers have glimpsed the truths Paul now presents (724)." The apostle Paul used this opportunity to speak of the gospel message to unbelievers and in this great sermon in Acts chapter 17, Paul declares the bounds of men and nations in which they can not pass. For anyone who does not understand boundaries, they started with God and His creation and continue in our daily lives.
So boundaries are undeniable. They exist everywhere. They are not some abstract or vague concept. They exist because man is mortal and has a last breath. They exist because they can be applied. The whole idea of a concept is to make application of it. If God has boundaries for us, it is only fitting, proper and prudent for us to have boundaries for not only ourselves but others as well. Boundaries set the limits of man's free will, particularly when his free will impacts the life of another.
Lawrence O. Richards. The Bible Reader's Companion. Victor Books, 1991.