Category Archives: God

Boundaries in Families, Part 3

Within our families, we are trying to balance being connected with standing separately. Psychologists refer to this as self-differentiation. This is when I can voice my own thoughts or views, even if they’re different than yours. And yet, while doing … Continue reading

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Boundaries in Families, Part 1

Family is where we learn about the importance of boundaries. Your Mom and Dad taught you about “Yes” and “No,” about how to behave and — just as importantly — how NOT to behave. Family is where we learn about … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 4

The boundary problem of control Loving people well means respecting their boundaries. To disregard someone’s boundaries is to attempt to exert control over them. As we noted in yesterday’s post, compliant people have a hard time saying no. And controlling … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 3

The boundary problem of compliance Compliance is when we don’t respect ourselves enough to maintain healthy boundaries. Compliant people have “fuzzy” boundaries. Their “yes” and their “no” doesn’t really mean anything. An example of this is the person who claims … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 2

It is a fundamental biblical teaching that every human being is deserving of a modicum of respect. Here are some of the key reasons for this: Everyone is deserving of a baseline level of respect because every human being is … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Reaping, Part 2

The language of sowing and reaping comes from the world of agriculture. It’s about cause and effect: the seeds you plant lead directly to the harvest you’ll gather. This proverb is about the natural consequences of our actions. And you … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Responsibility, Part 4

A lot of our problems arise whenever we don’t understand the difference between the boulders and the backpacks. Think about the problems that come about whenever people try to carry their boulders on their own. This is the person who … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Responsibility, Part 3

The biblical principle of responsibility brings clarity in these areas where we might otherwise be tempted to over-function. The principle of responsibility helps us carve out some important boundaries in our lives. To illustrate this, I’d like to look at … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Responsibility, Part 2

One of the most common boundary violations is when we over-function. Over-functioning is when someone assumes too much responsibility in a particular relationship. It’s when one person assumes responsibility for someone else’s yard. That’s what’s going on in the story … Continue reading

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Responsibility, Part 1

Last week, we kicked off a new series entitled Boundaries: Setting Healthy Limits. The aim of this series is to help us establish godly boundaries for our lives, primarily in our relationships. This is predicated on the idea that clear … Continue reading

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