Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” While we have looked at this profound verse before, we have not looked at it from the perspective of a man setting some boundaries in his Christian walk and leadership. If you have ever driven the highway between Durango and Silverton, Colorado, you will understand boundaries and guardrails on the road. This so-called “million dollar” highway is fraught with dangers of going too fast, taking a turn too wide and not watching oncoming traffic. It winds around sharp curves up and down the very high mountains. There are guardrails along most of the really bad curves to set boundaries. There are other curves and dropping-off places where the driver must set his own boundaries or he will go over the cliff and take those with him to their death or injury. It is a dangerous road which requires the driver to pay close attention, not become distracted and to follow the rules of driving.

A man’s walk down the road of life and his spiritual leadership of his family are no different. A man must set boundaries of where he will walk and what he will do. A man should set a boundary to never be alone with any woman other than his wife. Even the spies whom Joshua sent to the house of Rahab did not go alone because she was a prostitute. The two men went together so that no false accusations to question their character would arise, to remove potential temptations and to hold each other accountable (Joshua 2:1). A man must set boundaries on where he will go, the kind of movies he watches (certainly NOT “Fifty Shades of Grey”), the kinds of magazines he reads and the television shows he watches. He should also set boundaries on what would take him from church attendance with his family or things that would keep him from prayer and God’s Word. This is NOT a legalistic approach, but guardrails and boundaries to help him live and lead in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

Question: Do you need to set some boundaries and guardrails on the road you are traveling?