We’ve been thinking all week about one key idea: boundaries are biblical. This will be important for us to remember whenever we talk about establishing healthy boundaries in our relationships, particularly if we are tempted to think that boundaries are unloving. As we have seen, God repeatedly establishes boundaries — as He creates the world and also as He gives commands throughout the scriptures.

The writer of the Proverbs summarizes it well:

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

When we hear the word “heart,” our minds immediately think about love and romance. But according to the Bible, the “heart” is the center of your being. It is the place where your will resides, the place where you make decisions. It sums up your inclinations and your thought processes. We use words like “the mind” but the biblical term for all of this is “the heart.”

This passage is about establishing good guardrails around your heart because life is lived from the heart. As the proverb teaches, one’s entire life flows forth from the heart.

The language here is literally watch your heart or take custody of your heart. When he sang, “I keep a close watch on this heart of mine,” Johnny Cash must have been thinking of Proverbs 4:23, because this is what the passage is saying.

What guardrails have you established around your heart? Why is it so important for us to guard our hearts?

Over the next few weeks, we will take these biblical ideas and apply them to our lives in a variety of ways. And the hope is that the Lord will help us as we think about our own boundaries.

Are there some places where your boundaries have been too rigid? Have you drawn lines in areas where the Lord doesn’t?

Maybe there are some areas where you’ve been far too lax. Maybe you’ve let Satan blur the boundaries God has given. This is always his strategy. Can you identify an area of your life where you’re tempted to view God’s protection more like a restriction?

Maybe you have some relationship in your life that needs some attention. Maybe you’ve built up walls in some places. We’ll talk more about this, but just remember that most good boundaries are more like fences with gates to allow appropriate access rather than a wall that cuts you off forever. Maybe you have some fences in need of repair.

Maybe you’re struggling with identifying good boundaries in your marriage, in your parenting, or with your extended family.

Maybe you need to hear that No isn’t a bad word. Maybe you say Yes to everyone and everything but now you’re utterly exhausted because you’ve blurred the boundary of where your responsibilities end and where someone else’s begin.

That’s why I’m so excited about this series. God’s Word speaks to all of these circumstances.

He who has ears, let him hear.