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Stay Inside the Lines
Ezekiel 47:13
"Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions."
Many people have lived by borders from an early age. When you watch children in a car, they will establish their imaginary borders that they don't want their siblings to cross. Teachers will teach their young students when they color a picture to stay within the lines. Drivers are expected to stay within the yellow lines when they are driving. Borders are a part of life.
When God established the inheritances of the tribes of Israel, He made sure that they had borders. These borders were there so that each tribe would clearly know what their inheritance was. God knew that one way to keep peace among His people was to have clearly established borders for them to live within.
Likewise, your life will never experience peace without having borders. Every part of your life should have borders. One of the reasons people live in turmoil is because they leave the boundaries of their borders, thus causing strife with others and within themselves. Peace is one of the most desired things in life. However, if you are going to have personal peace, then you will have to establish borders in your life.
If a workplace is going to have peace, then their needs to be clearly defined borders of everyone's duties. One of the causes of strife and discontentment in the workplace is because the boss did not define the boundaries of the duties of each employee. Without these duties being defined, you will have people crossing over into the duties of others. Moreover, a boss needs to be sure that each employee understands that they are expected to stay within the borders of their duties. A boss must not allow employees to cross over into another's realm of duties if they expect there to be peace in the workplace. When every employee stays within their defined borders of their duties, then all employees have a better chance of getting along.
You must also establish borders in the home if you want your home to be peaceful. The husband and wife need to know their areas of control. If one spouse is in charge of the inside, then the other spouse needs to stay out of that area so that conflict is not established. Likewise, your children need to know what is and is not theirs. If parents will clearly define borders in the home for duties and expectations, then you will have a better chance of having peace amongst your children.
Furthermore, be sure to establish borders with right and wrong. When you clearly define what is right and wrong, you give clear direction of what to do and what not to do. This creates a peace within a person that they know they are doing right. Don't blur the lines of right and wrong, but make the lines of right and wrong very clear.
Finally, establish borders with your time. What I mean by this is you need to live by schedule. A schedule is a border of time. Your schedule tells you the allotment of time that you give to each responsibility that needs to be done. It tells you when to do that responsibility. The establishment of borders with your time will help to remove undo stress.
God created us with a need of borders. Throughout creation you see the borders that God established for us. You will never experience peace to its fullest without having established borders in every area of your life.