The Beauty of Limits

by Raymund Tamayo

I was eating my breakfast this morning, a simple one – eggplant omelette, a cup of rice, and a glass of water – when I had the sudden urge to get more rice.

I paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and composed myself.

For health purposes, I am limiting myself to just a cup of rice, or fewer, every meal, I remembered.

That’s what I like about having limits. It forces you to be disciplined and gives you the opportunity to practice self-control. Too much of anything is not good.

Imagine if our roads had no speed limits, or credit cards had no limits, or politicians had no term limits. The world would be a disaster!

I’m not saying that everyone should have limits. But for me, it’s okay to have them. I limit myself to having 100 personal things, 1 cup of coffee a day, and live within our means, to name a few. Limits allow me to always be reliant on God and force me to figure out what’s really important.

God Himself applied giving limits to humans. In the Garden of Eden, God told Adam that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil should not be touched or eaten. Look what happens when someone doesn’t respect limits.