Last week we talked about the woe is me principle and how that can tear up and tear down relationships. Well this week, we'll discuss another thing that can either solidify or destroy relationships, boundaries.
Did you know that our God is a God of Order? God has an order for our lives in every aspect: personal (Colossians 3:1), family (1 Corinthians 11:3/Ephesians 5:21-6:4), career (Colossians 3:20-4:2), church, and community (Colossians 4:5-6). God has a distinct way of doing things and has an Image (Christ, Hebrews 1:3) and Likeness (Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23) that He wants in all things.
So if there's a playbook, why is there so much chaos in the world? Why are so many men acting a donkey? Why is there so much wounding?
DISORDER
While there are disorderly family units, and disorder everywhere...disorder comes from a lack of boundaries which in turn results in undefined dynamics. And an ambiguous dynamic of any kind is just begging for disorder.
Think about it in these terms: Papa was a rolling stone right? (Not necessarily your papa, just saying).
Ever think about why papa was a rollin' stone? The Word distinctly states in Genesis 1 that a man should leave his father and mother and cling to his wife...NOT his wife AND ANYone else. The two are supposed to become of one flesh...how can a house divided against itself stand (from the Gospel)? Well if a man has any other Image for marriage other than that designated in 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5 (see previous blog), then he's clearly ignoring a boundary, thusly distorting a definition as dictated by God and creating DISORDER.
It's not just infidelity in marriage...it's the "friend with benefits" piece as well. "If a man looketh at another woman with lust, he has committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). In Exodus 20, one of the 10 Commandments to to NOT do this (reverberated several places in the New Testament). Now is it possible to not desire a dynamic like "friends with benefits" without engrossing ourselves in the Lord and His Way?
Answer: NOPE
Otherwise it wouldn't be desirable. It's going to clash with godliness (Galatians 5:17).
However, it's not just lust. Greed (No one can serve two masters, he shall love one and hate the other; you cannot serve God and wealth [Matthew 6:24]). A man ignoring this boundary cannot be the Biblical man that God set out for the 1st Adam but didn't get until the 2nd Adam (Christ). How can a man die to himself if he's stuck in financial self-preservation? Or any form of self-preservation?
Answer: He' can't.
What happens when boundaries are ignored? Well...
1) Folk get hurt...
2) The Holy Spirit is grieved...
3) Spiritual accounts are disrupted...
And we must keep Communion and fellowship with God including a comprehensive self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) only speak in a manner that edifies the Spirit (Ephesians 4:29), keep the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22-23), and Love God with all our hearts/thy neighbor as thy own flesh (Matthew 22:35-40).
Now don't get it flipped; women are just as subject to this as men...but it simply has a different effect when it starts with the man (again, 1 Corinthians 11:3). Now Joe Blow off the street won't have the influence necessary to create dysfunctional femininity from his dysfunctional masculinity...I'm talking about solidified dynamics (dating, "dating" ("friends with benefits"), relationships, marriage, etc.)
I could go on about ignoring boundaries forever. But what's the solution...?
1) Men, we gotta examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:27-32). Keep short (but candid) accounts with God about everything we do and let
2) We gotta take all thoughts captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Principalities penetrate the mind and drive us to do ungodly things (And ignoring ANY boundary set by GOD through His Word is ungodly). Remember, it only takes one unchecked thought to tear down everything we've built.
3) Seek first the Kingdom and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
4) Make sure all of our decisions are guided BY SCRIPTURE ALONE, because it's the gold standard for living our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
5) Again the
5) For when 1-4 fail, we must confess our sins so that God may clean us up (1 John 1:9) and make sure we don't condemn ourselves, for there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). For unforgiveness and self-condemnation choke growth, propagate poor behavior patterns, and ALSO lead to ignoring of God-set boundaries. But let us remember while there is no condemnation in Christ, that our actions do have consequences, and those consequences work even for a greater good that we may come back into fellowship with God through our Lord, Savior, and Intercessor, Jesus Christ.
If we can keep these things in mind, fellas, we can show the ladies and all those around us what functional masculinity looks like. And next time I'm going to talk about what that looks like from a comprehensive standpoint. Until then, God bless.
I'd like to hear what you have to say about our God not being a God of confusion...I have been dealing with a lot of people lately that are trying to use Scripture to go back and forth on issues like, is it okay to be happy that Osama is dead...using Scripture to justify it. Let's here your thoughts brother.
ReplyDeleteFunny when I stop hovering over Blogspot you comment! So pardon the delay.
ReplyDeleteGod is God of Order. His default setting is to love and show mercy. It is only when those are irreconcilably separated from his Word (and therefore, His Will) that he wipes them out (in an orderly fashion).
Romans 6:23 says "The wages of sin is death, but the gift from God is eternal life". Folks can't get that eternal life if they committing the one sin that separates them from this eternal life: acceptance of Christ followed by subsequent sealing by the Holy Spirit (John 3:16-18; Ephesians 1:13-14).
Regarding God's stance on Osama bin Laden (and Adolf Hitler, and every megalomaniacal supertyrant in the history of man: Proverbs 24:17-18 essentially tells us not to be happy when the wicked fall but rather let God make that Call.
The Romans passage can be brought home in Ezekiel 18:21-27. Iniquity causes a man to die, but God would rather the wicked turn from their wickedness so that they may live. God WANTS every last one of us to have undying, unwavering trust in Him (i.e., uninterrupted fellowship), so that He may do great works in us. However, He knows (and has always known) when the wicked will be wicked, how long they will be wicked, and whether or not their wickedness will destroy them.
That being said, even if you rejoice in the death of the wicked, and go against this Scripture, there is confession/forgiveness (1 John 1:9), self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-32), no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1), and us being inseparable from God/God's love (Romans 8:27-39).
Look at the first sin...Genesis 2...first disobedience of God "If you eat of this fruit, you shall surely die". They ate, got the sin nature, and eventually died. This is why we get the eternal life in Salvation (see previous entry) through Christ so that we may not die...spiritually speaking, the physical earthly bodies die because of this default sin nature (Romans 3:23) and those who are sealed with the Holy Spirit get new sinless bodies when they pass on from this world (see Christ's glorified body in Matthew 28 as somewhat of an example, also reference 1 The 4:17 regarding the Rapture).
The bottom line is...God has a default Nature that He will not stray from (Galatians 5:22-23) but He knows full well we can't fully fully achieve that so he allows us a process by which to grow spiritually (Romans 5:8-Romans 8:39/my entry on Salvation (Doctrine of Sanctification))
I could go on, but I hope this answers your question.
Yes you have answered my question. Many of my Facebook friends who claim to be Christians were going back and forth using Scripture to justify being happy that American troops killed Osama while others where using Scripture that contradicted their actions. I believer that our God is not a God of confusion however, there were many that were confused regarding what was right and what was wrong to feel about that day. While I did not celebrate the fall of "our enemy" I feel that on that day several of my Christian friends were quite conflicted about how they should behave. Awesome response and great points!
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