966) We hear and read a lot about the importance of personal boundaries. This is a difficult subject for me because I have always assumed that sticking up for myself is selfish. I believe that, depending on my motivation and words, it can be, but certain boundaries are necessary.

Act 16:16-40, the local authorities drag Paul and Silas, citizens of Rome, out into the public, beat them with rods and then throw them in jail. During the night, God sent an earthquake that shakes the prison so that the doors fly open and the men’s chains come loose. When Paul and Silas tell the warden how God freed them, the warden and his entire family convert to Christianity. The next day, the warden receives word from one that is in authority over him that the men are to be set free, and he tells Paul and Silas to go. Paul says that what those men did was illegal and they needed to be the ones that publicly escort them out, allowing others to see that they were in the wrong.

We don’t need to become people that are so focused on our rights and boundaries that we become someone that no one wants to be around. However, we are also not to be people who don’t learn when it’s time to take up for ourselves. I really need this lesson!