BEYOND THE BOUNDARY

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Most of us won't often be tempted to commit obvious sins such as armed robbery, murder or rape. Satan's tack is to entice us to push something good beyond the boundary of the will of God until it becomes sin. He treats us like the proverbial frog in the pot of water: gradually turning up the heat of temptation, hoping we don't notice that we are approaching the boundary of God's will and jump out before something good becomes sin.

Everything is good and lawful for us because we are free from sin and no longer under the condemnation of the law. But the following statements reveal how we can wrongly take good things beyond the boundary of God's will:

physical rest becomes laziness

ability to profit becomes avarice and greed

enjoyment of life becomes intemperance

physical pleasure becomes sensuality

interest in the possessions of others becomes covetousness

enjoyment of food becomes gluttony

self-care becomes selfishness

self-respect becomes conceit

communication becomes gossip

cautiousness becomes unbelief

anger becomes rage and bad temper

loving kindness becomes overprotection

judgment becomes criticism

sexual freedom becomes immorality

conscientiousness becomes perfectionism

generosity becomes wastefulness

self-protection becomes dishonesty

carefulness becomes fear

Lord, I seek Your balance in my life today to do what is profitable without being mastered by anything, even good things.

Neil Anderson

Daily in Christ, Copyright © 1993 Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97408. www.harvesthousepublishers.com.
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