Establish Clear Boundaries

You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17

Imagine a tennis court with no lines or boundaries. Every shot is “in,” and serves never land in the wrong court. The game would be much easier to play—wouldn’t it?

Without lines, both players would run around the court like a couple of Monty Python characters until one of them gave up or dropped from exhaustion. Those exciting over-the-shoulder backhands that just barely catch an outside corner wouldn’t mean a thing, and guys like John McEnroe would need to find a different way of gaining fame.

Boundaries make tennis work.

Knowing where the lines are and learning to play the game inside them is what sets great players apart from weekend wannabes.

God told Adam he could “freely eat” within the parameters he had established.

Do people in your game know where the boundaries are? More importantly—have you given them the freedom to do what they do best inside the lines?