Boundaries

I've been thinking a lot lately about boundaries or the lack thereof in our society - particularly when it comes to children and cell phones. I've heard or seen a couple of cell phone commercials lately that have made me think a bit about this. The first of these commercials I heard on the radio. The second was basically the same commercial but just on TV. In both these commercials (I think they're for Verizon), there's the notion that now parents can afford all the texting their kids are doing. The television version is actually kind of sad. The dad is really excited because now all the messaging (text, picture, etc...) is unlimited no matter the network. The kids don't even bat an eye because they already message as much as they want. But the dad tells them, "Yes, but now Mom can quit her second job," just as his wife walks in the room wearing a big taco costume.

Where are we at now that we allow our kids to run up big text messaging bills? We have boundaries in life and yet we aren't doing our kids any favors when we don't teach them to respect these boundaries. Sure, text messages aren't such a big deal - but if we can't learn to appreciate those boundaries, then we will probably push the limits on others as well. So what are we teaching our kids?

Now, how do we do ministry in a world where boundaries are often not respected? Do those who lack boundaries yearn for them? Or do they desire to throw away any boundaries that are there? I suspect it's probably the former rather than the latter. But how does that impact how we do ministry, how I do ministry?

Things to think about...

Kate