Setting Boundaries
I want to do God’s will by helping people who need it.
God’s will is for me to help others, but not to become their only support.
People need to rely on God.
God helps those who help others.
If I have faith in God, He will provide for me.
God provides for and replenishes me when I help others from the heart.
If others become dependent on me, instead of on God, this is unhealthy giving and receiving.
When I help others, I have to set boundaries at the very beginning about when and how much I will give them.
I begin by telling them that God blesses them and is their source and supply, not me, because I am not God.
God is their source and supply and wants them to build their faith and depend on Him.
If I give more than once to others without setting boundaries, they will become dependent on me, instead of on God, expecting me to keep helping them and becoming resentful if I don’t.
Then I become resentful when they keep asking things of me because I didn’t initially set boundaries.
If resentment arises in me or others, that is my fault because I didn’t set boundaries early.
It is human nature that if it’s easy to get more by simply asking, then most needy people will never stop asking.
Just because human nature leads needy people to become selfishly dependent, that is not a reason to give up on helping others.
The goal is to help others to become less selfish and more giving.
When you set boundaries early with needy people, that teaches them how to set boundaries when they help others.
You should always give to those in need from the heart, without creating a selfish dependence on you.
Instead, encourage them to depend on God.