“Christ calls us to love our enemies, to act with mercy. We should not as a knee-jerk reaction insist on our rights. … There is a sense, however, in which that mercy has limits. Jesus does not command that we suffer abuse and injustice passively. He does not teach that our forgiveness means we completely forget what has been done to us nor does it eliminate boundaries.”

Listen in to hear the rest of David Petersen’s article on setting boundaries and being merciful to the toxic.

Read this article at witness.lcms.org/2023/being-merciful-to-the-toxic.

Find the resource mentioned in the article at seattlechristiancounseling.com/articles/how-setting-boundaries-can-save-your-relationship.

Photo: LCMS Communications/Erik M. Lunsford

For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.