We all have different needs. Some of us need to eat more carbs, some of us need to eat more protein. Some of us need to drink more water than others do. Some of us need more solitude than others do. Some of us need hand lotion, some of us don’t. Some of us need to be more strict on the company we keep, some of us can keep almost any company without picking up bad habits. Some of us can’t go certain places, some of us can go almost anywhere. Some of us can get up and at ’em with no problem, some of us need a little outside encouragement.
This list could go on forever, so I’ll shorten it there. The point is that even though we all have many of the same basic needs and boundaries, there are some specific needs or boundaries that may seem silly to someone else that doesn’t need them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a particular need or boundary is silly.
For example, my brother sometimes jokingly pokes fun at me for needing lotion on my hands in the winter while he does not. My hands will look like dry lizard skin if I don’t use lotion, while his hands don’t change at all without it. I need it and he doesn’t, and that’s okay.
For another example, some people who struggle with alcohol need to avoid it altogether. Sometimes this means not going to certain places in the grocery store. I’m not tempted by alcohol at all and can walk right by it, but someone who struggles would be wise to avoid the temptation. They need the boundary and I do not, and that’s okay.
We all have different needs and boundaries that we should keep. You have needs and boundaries that I do not, I have needs and boundaries that you do not. Either way we should be aware of differing needs and respond accordingly.
Remember God knows all about these needs and boundaries, and can help us with all of them! He will supply our needs and help us uphold our boundaries. He may even point out one we didn’t know we need, and He will help us with that as well. God can convict us each a little differently, and that’s okay.