Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, August 2, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Setting boundaries is never pleasant. I have been in dysfunctional relationships in the past. When I started to get healthy through 12-Step recovery and therapy, I began to recognize the dysfunction. So I had to set healthy boundaries around behavior I would not accept from others. And the fact is that no matter how kind and loving you are in setting those boundaries, if the other person is still dysfunctional, there’s going to be blow-back.
Apparently this has been true since at least the first century CE. The writer of First Peter points out that when someone embraces “the Way” of Jesus, and turns away from the old attempts to wrest happiness from the world through extreme behaviors, their old carousing buddies are going to be pretty ticked off. And you better believe they’re going to talk all kinds of trash about God, who they feel is taking their friend away from them.
The good news is that God has your back. No matter how unpleasant it is to set boundaries with others, you can rest assured that God is right there with you, loving and supporting you through the challenge.
When have I had to set a boundary with another person? How did it go?