The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. – Psalm 111:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 13, 2016): Psalm 111 & 112

Dr. Henry Cloud maintains that “We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.” Our reaction is often that we begin to remove consequences from our lives and thereby remove any demand that might exist for us to change. As long as I am in control of the definitions of my life, I can avoid any need to change.

I recently read the impact statement of a campus rape on a young woman. The impact statement was articulate and descriptive. It showed all of the ways that the rape had changed her, had created too much pain in her life for her to remain the same. The change in her was long lasting. Not that she needed to change because her behavior was wrong, but the unimaginable pain as a result of the rape, pain that she did not deserve, was the only reason for what was now the ongoing change in her life. But maybe what was even worse was that the one who had perpetrated the action had simply tried to redefine the situation in order to escape the pain and escape any need to change his behavior. He blamed her, changed the circumstances of the attack in his favor and denied that there had been any wrongdoing committed on his part. He had removed the boundaries that surrounded his behavior and fought hard to ensure that those boundaries remained removed. He did not have any desire to change

I know this is one of the things that our culture dislikes about God and religion. The problem with the Judeo-Christian God is that he maintains boundaries that we would rather see widened. If we truly believe in this God, or really any god, then there is a feeling inside that we somehow are not measuring up. This feeling creates dissonance and pain, creating a need to change inside us. And most of us would really rather not go through the process. Why should anyone, even God, have the right to tell me when my behavior is right and when it is wrong.

But wisdom exists in the boundaries that we give ourselves. The ones that accomplish great things in this life are the ones who have created and maintained boundaries in at least in some areas of their lives. This is wisdom; because it is these boundaries that create the need inside of us to strive for more and to accomplish something – essentially laying the groundwork for a positive change inside of us. If it was not for the pain of the boundary, we would never achieve what we are capable of achieving.

To become a moral person, we have to fear or respect the lines that God has drawn into our lives. I know, we question the necessity, and yet we seem to love to be around people who are simply good. We want to be with people that have lived so long within these God drawn boundaries that living there has simply become a natural place to be. The pain of these God placed boundaries has moved them to a place of accomplishment. And I cannot think of a better place to live.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 113 & 114