Good Boundaries

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house,
Lest he become weary of you and hate you.

Proverbs 25:17

I grew up in the great days of the 80’s and 90’s sitcoms.  In Full House Kimmie Gibbler was the example of this proverb.  In Family Matters it was Steve Urkel.  This is the person that would be a bit of an oddball if they showed up in the house occasionally.  The may even have been endearing, but because they showed up every single episode for a good portion of the time they “wore out their welcome” and became the butt of most of the jokes.  In the context of a sitcom this is funny.  It is funny because one of the main characters is usually deeply bothered by this person, but it is also funny because their violation of this simple principle causes the audience to think that there is almost no end to the abuse that can be heaped upon that person.  There are, of course, those special relationships in life that really are “closer than a brother” as Solomon put it.  Most of the time, however, we must be very careful not to insert ourselves into other people homes or even their private space.  Just as a relationship can die because by in attention a relationship can be killed by smothering as well.  And like everything in life – a relationship needs space to breath.