You're Not the Boss of Me!

"You're not the boss of me!"  I have heard those words often while working with children.  It was popular at one time to remind others that they don't have any authority or rule over you; that their words were falling on deaf ears.  I have even used that phrase on occasion with my kids, mainly when they need yet another errand or ride somewhere.  We may remind others that they are not the boss of us, but someone is...  Who? 

BOSS: a person in charge of a worker or organization

...To give orders in a domineering manner: to dictate, to lord over

WHO'S THE BOSS OF YOU?

For a period of time, my mother was single and raising 5 kids.  During that time, we were never on drugs, never abused alcohol, none of us had ever gone to jail or prison (that I know of) and we all finished school. As a direct result of that up bringing, we are all now hard working and productive citizens today.  When someone asks me how she did it, I tell them about her occupation as a deputy sheriff in El Paso, Texas.  I don't think getting in trouble was tempting to us because we were very much aware of who would be at the county jail awaiting us.  We were not really scared of the others, it was just her.  MOM WAS THE BOSS.

OTHER BOSSES

In life we don't  think of bosses outside our occupation, but if we think for a moment, we allow people and things to dictate what we will or will not do every day.  Those things, or those people become a kind of "boss of us."

 

One day I was stopped for speeding on  a road I ride down every day.  I disagreed with the officer about how fast I was driving, and he let me off.  Later I realized I was probably doing what he said and more.  Well, I'm one of the folks that is willing to admit wrong, so I searched for him for a few months to apologize and found him.  Now, literally every day I go down that road, I remember him and slow down.   For me, he became....BOSS.

A friend of mine has mentors that help him with his life and finances.  They can tell him to do something and he does it.  It might seem harmless because he sees the benefit of their input, but either way, he has allowed them to dictate his actions.  He is doing well because of their help and there is nothing wrong with having it; but for him, they are BOSS.

Sometimes our bosses are not people.  We may have addictions, or habits that have become decision makers in how we spend our time, our money or they decide the outcome of our life.    Anything we allow to control us and how we live, whether it be television, pornography, sex, or even the pursuit of money can turn into a BOSS.  If it has the power to make us decide and the power to change our decisions, if it changes our mood or increases our ability to handle stuff; anything that affects your life- with or without your permission can be a BOSS.

THE BOSS

The bible says we cannot serve  two masters, because we will hold to one and despise the other. 

 

Let's be honest, we have many bosses.  Which one do you gravitate towards?  If we have given our lives to God, why do we respect our parents, or police officers or our appetites more than we do Him?  There are many things God is trying to work in us, ways that He is trying to regulate, but we have not really made Him boss.  Maybe we have grown to despise God because we are really serving ourselves.   We are subject to lean towards what we want in life, not what He has planned.  If only we'd realize-  God always has good plans for us.  If we let Him be THE BOSS;  He will not just meet needs, but He will ensure we fulfill our purpose and that life is good!

 

Sometimes we allow for certain bosses because of the potential fall out in refusing them.  We know the wrath of mom, or the police of even of our body when it comes to appetites that we have fed for so long.  We know the fall out, but I would rather have an immediate fall out than an eternal one.  Trying to avoid a fall out with people should not be what determines our BOSS. 

 

 

 

 

LOVE is a great incentive to choose God.  It  lasts through good times and bad and just knowing we love Him that much, should give Him  rule in our lives.  Knowing that He has good thoughts towards us and that we can trust Him is paramount.  If we learn to appreciate Him and learn about His ways, we will realize that there is no better one's hands to place our lives.   I am subject to go wayward and I need a good boss that sees everything, knows me - good and bad, and is committed to being there with me no matter what. 

 

I appreciate  those that God has allowed to watch over me, to correct me and to help me; but my life is in His hands, I depend on God's grace and His directions to help me be successful.  He can use whoever He wants to bring me to His feet and to help me walk in His ways, but really they are not the boss  in my life.  God and God alone is worthy to be the TRUE BOSS OF ME!