Break the Boundaries, Reach the Heights
- Category: Gospel Truth
- Date 03-09-2017
- 388 views
Mountains and rivers know the secret of success because they pay no attention to boundaries - Brian Andreas. A river flows from one area to another, without paying attention to the artificial borders established by people. Similarly, some mountains stretch across geographical borders irrespective of what societies may regard as the official borders. Rivers and mountains do not abide by the limitations of nations, states, districts or other locally defined vicinities.
In life, a person may meet boundaries in form of location, culture, gender, age, tribe, profession, education, appearance or physique. An adolescent might imagine that it is not possible to do business until one has attained a certain age. A male student might think that midwifery as a profession is reserved solely for women. A town dweller might consider that growing food is only possible for people who live in the countryside. An uneducated person might feel that taking a holiday is only suitable for the educated. A man who is planning to wed might perceive that a friend with disability cannot serve as a ‘best man’. A person born from a certain territory might think that a certain job can only be done by people from other places. All these are boundaries which a person must break in order to realise success in life. St Paul teaches that social status must not cause obstacles to progress, “…there is no longer any difference between Jew or Greek, between slave or free, between man or woman…” (Galatians 3:28). Boundaries will become a reality if a person cements them in his own mind. Someone said, “Your heart sets the borders of your life. The outside circumstances don’t set the borders…; it’s what’s in your heart that sets the boundaries or determines the course of your life.”
Society may advocate for boundaries which might limit an individual’s potential; yet one may also take a step beyond such barriers. If society condemns you, remember: “Jesus added, ‘No prophet is honoured in his own country” (Luke 4:24). Anyone who delays to take a critical decision until he has received approval from the local setting might, in the end, not take the decision after all. A person who embarks on the journey to success must remove from the mind all imagination about the likely presence of a boundary that is difficult to cross. One must behave like a river which, as it flows, ignores what people consider to be different localities. Boundaries only exist in the mind of a person who has already decided to fail. Such a person starts by judging himself negatively, becomes nervous before taking any steps, gets prepared to give up, and is willing to stop should he come across an imaginary hurdle.
To register success, we must be prepared to push the boundaries, where they exist, in order to expand the space available. This means doing things differently from the way everyone knows. We become better, not by doing things as usual, but by doing them better, when we go beyond the generally known standards. Different people have broken boundaries in different ways; by creating new car models, unique building fashions, inventing designer attire, making new hairstyles, crafting new dance strokes, others by developing new farming approaches. Everyone is capable of breaking the boundaries they meet. During his earthly ministry, Jesus Christ taught that a Christian must not be confined to worldly rules because, eventually, each one is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Christians may be harshly judged and greatly misunderstood. Yet, they cannot be contained in the earthly borders. The Lord said, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world” (John 17:14).
At the age of twelve, Jesus Christ was thought to have violated local norms when he remained behind after the Passover Festival in Jerusalem. His parents spent three futile days looking for him until they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions. Mary said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” He asked, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (This was a new concept) “…they did not understand his answer…. As for his mother, she kept these things in her heart” (Luke 2:49-51).
Some of the early Christian leaders had placed hurdles in the path of new converts but St Paul tore down many such roadblocks. For example, the Law of Moses recommended circumcision for every believer but Paul said that it was no longer necessary after baptism, “In Christ Jesus you were given a circumcision but not of a human hand…” (Colossians 2:11). Some Christian women considered their faith threatened if their husbands were unbelievers but Paul advised that it was alright for them to stay in marriage, “…if a woman has a husband who is not a believer but agrees to live with her, let her not separate from her husband…” (1 Corinthians 7:13).
According to Shannon L. Alder, an inspirational author, “No boundary or barrier surrounds the heart of a person that loves their self and other people.” Only that we remain in God’s boundless embrace because, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Venansio Ahabwe is a lay Christian from the Archdiocese of Mbarara
By Venansio Ahabwe
Source: Gospel Truth, Leadership Magazine