If you don't manage your life, others will. If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will.

If you don't set boundaries for yourself, the crowd will get what they think they need from you, but soon there will be nothing left to get. Then they will discard you like an old pair of shoes.

Managing Your Soul

If you set boundaries to manage your soul, many won't like it. They will accuse you of being arrogant, uncaring, not spiritual, unloving and so forth. They will tell you about the life of Jesus, who never turned away anyone. Of course, He didn't begin His public ministry until he was 30 and died at 33. He also had no wife or children to take care of, no soccer games to go to, no sleepless nights, up caring for a crying babies and so on.

If you have a public platform, most people think you are obligated to carry out their will, pray for them at their convenience, take pictures until all you can see are lights and hear every detail of their story, while 40 other people wait in line behind them, follow you out to your car or talk to you over the bathroom stall. You are expected to answer every post, email, phone call and text.

If you love God and are passionate about caring for people, if you give people hope and believe in miracles, if you pour out your soul for the broken and the poor, if you are radically generous, you will have favor with God and man.

But if you don't steward the favor of God, if you let the fear of man be your shepherd, if you convince yourself that you are the savior of the world, obligated to meet every need that you are exposed to, you will crash and the crowd will find another savior.

Learn to Say No

So a little advice from an aging man; chill—you are not that important. Have fun! Enjoy your life. Learn to say no! Operate out of overflow. Let Jesus love on you. Let the crowd think whatever they want, and remind yourself that there is always enough time to touch everyone Jesus sent to you.

For more on this subject, check out my book Supernatural Ways of Royalty.

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Do you have healthy boundaries in your life? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Kris Vallotton is the senior associate leader at Bethel Church in Redding, California, where he has served with Bill Johnson for three decades. He has written several books, including the best-selling The Supernatural Ways of Royalty and Heavy Rain.

For the original article, visit krisvallotton.com.

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