I think the heart of Matthew 19 goes so much deeper than just the topic of divorce. It is the heart of a husband for his wife and a wife for her husband. 'What God has joined together, let no one separate." We are always called to be respectful, but never to allow divisiveness to separate the two who have become one. Further, Jesus even draws a limit on blood family of His own in Mark 3. He says, "Who are my mother and my brothers?...Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." He refused to go out to His family at the expense of the ministry He was called to--He set limits on His fealty. In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul discusses how we are not our own. No one in our life should usurp the place of high honor in our hearts. The hierarchy of family is laid out again and again in the scriptures. God is above all. Then husband & wife. Then children. It trickles down. While we are called not to neglect our family members (1 Timothy 5) and to meet their needs, we are never called to give them first order of preference above our spouses or nuclear family, and certainly not above the Lord & His statutes. I think scripture lays out pretty clearly what happens when there aren't boundaries (Reuben, Absolom, Laban, Isaac & Rebecca, Sarah & Hagar etc), and also lays out our responsibilities. Every family will operate a bit differently, but our calling is the same at the core. Honor God in our marriages, raise children in admonition and fear of the Lord, and serve others as we would want to be served.
Very helpful thank you
Are boundaries from family biblical?
I believe there should be a healthy balance in all relationships...my opinion🤷♂️🙏🏽 God bless you
I think the heart of Matthew 19 goes so much deeper than just the topic of divorce. It is the heart of a husband for his wife and a wife for her husband. 'What God has joined together, let no one separate." We are always called to be respectful, but never to allow divisiveness to separate the two who have become one.
Further, Jesus even draws a limit on blood family of His own in Mark 3. He says, "Who are my mother and my brothers?...Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." He refused to go out to His family at the expense of the ministry He was called to--He set limits on His fealty.
In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul discusses how we are not our own. No one in our life should usurp the place of high honor in our hearts. The hierarchy of family is laid out again and again in the scriptures. God is above all. Then husband & wife. Then children. It trickles down. While we are called not to neglect our family members (1 Timothy 5) and to meet their needs, we are never called to give them first order of preference above our spouses or nuclear family, and certainly not above the Lord & His statutes.
I think scripture lays out pretty clearly what happens when there aren't boundaries (Reuben, Absolom, Laban, Isaac & Rebecca, Sarah & Hagar etc), and also lays out our responsibilities. Every family will operate a bit differently, but our calling is the same at the core. Honor God in our marriages, raise children in admonition and fear of the Lord, and serve others as we would want to be served.