How To Forgive: Set Boundaries
How to Forgive: Set BoundariesThis is part two in a series on How to Forgive. In part one I said that you need to BE THE HERO. The second idea I have for you is to set boundaries. The thought here is that it’s really hard to forgive someone if they are still offending you.I talked to a couple of people this week that not only had people actively offending them but these people were inciting others to offend them as well (mostly family members). I told them both that they have to get some distance between themselves and these people...they have to bring some separation... otherwise it will be just too hard to forgive. They can’t be listening to these people. They’ll drag them down.It’s at times like this that you have to immerse yourself in the words of God more than ever. Make sure your worth as a person and your identity comes from God and not what people say about you. This is the topic of my book, Healing the Hurts of Your Past.You might be in a situation where you are continually offended by the same person in the same way. No matter how many times you’ve confronted them and forgiven them, they don’t seem to get it – and it’s getting harder and harder to forgive. They just keep hurting you over and over. What do you do then? My word of advice for repeat offenders is to set boundaries.
Boundaries give consequences for bad behavior.
People often ask, where are boundaries in the Bible? Let me give you a couple of examples. The apostle Paul was teaching in a synagogue.
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him... Acts 19:8,9
Paul gave his heart and soul to these people every day for three months but some people didn’t respect him or his ministry. They trash talked him. Finally, Paul said, “That’s enough. I won’t allow you to speak to me like this anymore.” And then he took action to create space. Any time you see a consequence in the Bible you are seeing boundaries in action.Another example from Jesus of boundaries is when he told his disciples to “shake the dust off your feet” if people didn’t accept their message. In other words, don’t bear their abuse, just move on to someone who cares.
Are you too nice?
The reason that some of us have so much trouble forgiving is that we allow people to keep messing with us. We are too nice. Many of us justify it by saying that we are Christians and Christians have to be nice. But that’s typically just a cover for your fear of confrontation. Am I right? You are afraid to say anything. But it’s better to say something out of love than be “nice” and have a heart full of hate toward someone. Sit your offender down and say,What you are doing or saying is not okay. If you keep it up I’m going to find ways to put distance between us.
I have more to say on boundaries. Look for my next post on this topic.Question: What's the hardest thing about setting boundaries for you? Leave your comment below.This post was adapted from my book, STUCK...how to mend and move on from broken relationships.
Related articles
Defining Forgiveness: Five Things Forgiveness is Not (part three) (readingremy.com)
How to Forgive: Be the Hero (readingremy.com)