The Freedom Of Boundaries

Today, you will often hear non-Christians say that they would never become a Christian because they don't want to give up their freedoms. They don't want any boundaries in their lives. But it's actually having rules and boundaries that give us freedom and allow us to live happy and secure lives.

I know this sounds backwards but think about it for a minute. Think of the rules of the road. There is great freedom in driving, but we need to obey certain rules. In America we drive on the right side of the road. What if you said, 'well I'm free to drive on whatever side I want.' Well you could do that but the consequences might me deadly. Or, what about a traffic light? Red means stop and green means go. Should we not listen to those rules. If you pull up to a red light and say 'I don't need these rules' and drive right through the light, the consequences could be deadly. There is safety and security and freedom in boundaries.

Mark Cahill, in his book, "One Heartbeat Away" gives another good example. "If you were staying on the 30th floor of a hotel, would you go out on the balcony if it were just a slab of concrete, but had no railings? Would you put your child out there?

Of course not, it would be too dangerous. But once you put some good strong railings on the balcony, would you go out there then? Would you go out there with your child? Of course. Not only would most of us go out there, we would even lean on the railing while we were out there. Why would we do this? Once there is a boundary, you have all the freedom you want inside that boundary. You can even have lunch out there if you want. Boundaries actually provide freedom."

The 10 commandments are not the 10 suggestions. God did not give us the 10 commandments to suppress us but so that we may live life to the fullest. If we try to live our lives by keeping them we will live happier, fuller lives.

God bless

Rob