This morning as I was having my 3rd cup of coffee, reading the Bible, and seeking the Lord about several things, something outside my window to my front yard caught my eye. I got up to see if it really was what I feared: my cat darting across the road in front of my house to chase who knows what - squirrel, possum, bird, anything that moves will entice her. The thought of her running across the road - and now the knowledge that she actually does it - terrifies me! What she chases doesn't terrify me - evidently she can hold her own even against possums (I like to think she gets that from me). But the speed at which cars and trucks fly down our residential road is just an accident waiting to happen - whether it's a kid on a bike, an elderly person walking their dog, or my crazy cat, Callie.
Then the Lord showed me that often we are no different than Callie. Callie is a yard cat and her boundary is supposed to be the yard. But I have no real way of keeping her confined in the yard, so she roams. We all have spiritual boundaries that the Lord allows us to roam and cross when we are as determined as Callie to chase something that we really have no business chasing. Some boundaries are very well defined - we know we are not supposed to kill, steal, lie, slander, gossip, covet etc. The Lord set those boundaries for very obvious reasons - the consequences are devastating to all involved.
But what about an area in which the boundary is not as nearly as clear? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:23, "Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful." Callie can cross the road all she wants and I can't stop her, but it very well could literally be the death of her one day I fear. God gives us much leeway in many things in our lives that we have to individually seek Him about whether it is appropriate in our life. My boundaries may look different than your boundaries, and probably do because there are many areas of my life that God has called me to delete some items from life.
Secular music and alcohol are two areas where I received very clear boundaries that these were off limits for me. Not necessarily because the Bible lists them as sins, but because of the consequences that these two items could have in my life. Music will typically bring strong memories associated with it that has a big impact on me that is not always positive. I cannot camp out there. Alcohol is one of those very gray areas and I don't want my "right" to consume alcohol ever have a negative effect on anyone seeking Christ in any manner. Some ladies from my Sunday school class even acknowledged once that if they ever saw me drinking, they would be shocked. If I'm going to shock someone, I hope it's in a positive way, not a negative one.
Callie really doesn't know not to run across the street, but it could be deadly for her. We know the things that are deadly for us, yet we still often flirt with how close we can get to the boundaries and sometimes ultimately cross it. Prayer requests crossing over as gossip. Small amounts of time on social media slipping into hours wasted. Missing a week or two of church/small groups turning into months. A little shopping turning into retail marathons. Small white lies leading into cover up after cover up. Innocent friendships sliding into inappropriate relationships. You get the idea. And the consequences to any of those crossing the boundary examples can be deadly - deadly financially, relationally, and spiritually.
So as a steadfast believer chasing hard after Christ, map out your boundaries, build strong walls of protection, and THINK before you cross the road.
