Moving Boundaries

"Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set" (Proverbs 22:28).

British essayist, G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "Do not ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up in the first place." In that statement Chesterton was repeating the sentiment found in the Proverb above. Metaphorically speaking, the boundary and the fence refer to the Law of God. We are presently living in a day where men pride themselves in tearing down the ancient boundaries, the fences, if you will, of the laws of God.

The longer I walk with God the more I am overwhelmed by His wisdom. I too, at one time, saw God's laws as restrictive and confining. Frankly, I saw God as the big killjoy in the sky.  But now I see that all of His laws are loving and logical. What do I mean by that?  Just this, God has given us His law because He truly loves us and wants what is best for us. Secondly, His laws make sense.

The problem with God's laws is that they are boundaries that are more akin to lines drawn in the sand than a ten foot, electrified, chain link fence topped with razor wire. We have been given complete freedom to cross that line in the sand if we so choose. But, in crossing that line, we will find that there is another law at play in God's universe, the law of consequence. Or as my dear mother used to say, "If you dance you have to pay the fiddler."

I cannot tell you of the countless times that individuals have come to my office, seeking some guidance as to how to put their lives back together because they crossed the line in the sand, a line that brings forth another truth from the Proverbs. "Can a man take fire into his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?"(Proverbs 6:27).

The boundaries that God has established in His wisdom, are placed as they are because He loves us, loves us as no other loves us. These are boundaries set in place for our protection, and we cross them or remove them at our own peril. In many ways, our nation is bouncing around like a cork on the ocean, because man in his wisdom is choosing to either move the boundaries or erase them all together, with little regard as to why they were put there in the first place.