CAUTION: danger ahead!

One of the most difficult things for me to accept is that in order to love myself, I just may need to set boundaries.

Saying "No" to requests and stress takes alot of courage for some of us. Not all stress and requests made to us are for us to take upon our shoulders and bear.

Loving ourselves may have a "selfish" ring to it, but quite to the contrary, loving ourselves is anything but selfish when applying God's Word. In order to love others, we MUST love ourselves. Not once, not twice, but eight times God's Word says "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 19:19; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8)

So it is safe to say that how we love others is contingent on how well we love ourselves.

Often times I find myself running ragged and allowing people, their attitudes and their demands to completely stress me out. Sometimes to the point of stress induced headaches and a loss of joy in my life. What I need in my life is a few yield signs. Signs that will help me to slow down, say no where no needs to be said and when people cross over a boundary line, I need to put in place a few road blocks.

Jesus understood the need to set limits.

He did not allow others to dictate His purpose or His agenda. In fact, when Jesus mother and brothers attempted to divert Him from His ministry. (Matthew 12:46-50)  He resisted.

Even the crowd tried to throw Him off the cliff when He claimed to be the Messiah. (Luke 4:28-30)
But he escaped them.

When Peter told Jesus He would not have to suffer. (Matthew 16:21-22) He rebuked him.

3 things that we can learn from Jesus when it comes to setting boundaries...

1. Jesus knew His purpose 2. He knew when to walk away 3. and He understood God's plan.

Boundaries will help us to achieve these things in our lives. The hardest boundaries to set in motion are those with people closest to us. Those we work with, our friends, and even our family. Jesus had to set limits with those closest to Him, so why do we think we won't have to do that also?

LUKE 14:35 (ESV) You must decide if you can leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower! "Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, then you can't make it salty again. It is worth nothing. You can't even use it for soil or for plant food. People throw it away.

Boundaries keep us safe. Not only on the highway but on the road of life also. But we must be willing to adhere to the signs.