I’ve been reading “Boundaries” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. You can visit the Cloud-Townsend website here. I highly recommend this book, and I think everyone should read it. You are either going to identify with me or you are going to think “duh,” but this book has really helped me to understand how emotions were given to us by God to help us identify what boundaries we need to set for our self and the people in our life. As Christians we are taught to deny our self, so sometimes we inadvertently think that boundaries are selfish. However, God always designed us to know when we are hungry or need to go to the bathroom. If we stop to eat or to use the bathroom, no one thinks of us as selfish, but we are taking care of our own physical needs. Emotions are designed by God to do the same. I’ll be honest and say that I did not know that emotions had this purpose: to take care of needs in an emotional sense.
God has given us clear boundaries that we all are to abide by in His Word. But He has crafted each one of us uniquely with different emotional responses to different situations. I cannot explain it as adequately as you can read in the book, but I think boundaries set us free to be who God created us to be and also free us from placing judgment on others when they choose to do something differently than we think is best or even right.
This is an ah-ha moment for me.
I love the explanation of how we don’t think twice about caring for our physical needs yet fail to realize we need to care for our emotional needs, too. Thanks for sharing this–it gives me insight into some important areas of my life.
You are welcome, and I am glad you enjoyed the thoughts! It has really helped me to let go of some things realizing that about my emotions.
Love, love, love this book! Read it almost 8 years ago, and literally, almost weekly, if not daily, use these principles in my life. It was really life-changing for me!