You’re Not the Boss of Me
My son called and asked me to send him this first photo of Bryson and the pelicans. Bryson’s school’s yearbook team was collecting favorite photos of their students for their upcoming annual. It was easy to find the photo and send it to my son because I keep it in my “Family Archives” file as one of my all-time favorites.
When coming back to the harbor after our deep-sea fishing trip a couple of weeks ago, the pelicans seemed to know that fish would be on that boat and they were coming in for a haul. Well, bless their hearts, long beaks and large throat pouches – they went empty pouch and we were empty of having a nice fish fry. But, I did take photos of Bryson having a man-to-pelican talk! I think, once again, he was saying “You’re not the boss of me!”
Maybe you’ve heard your kids or grandkids say “You’re not the boss of me!” to a sibling, a baby sitter or even a grandparent when they were being told what to do. Well, isn’t that what we should be saying to the enemy of our souls when he comes prowling around our hearts and minds telling us what to do. And, even more so, we should be taking control of what comes into our minds to tempt us and distract us from WHO is our boss.
One finger pointing at you and four back at me as I type this blog. How often do we yield to temptations — big and small? Instead of eating a few chips, we eat the whole bag; instead of walking away from listening to an obscene joke, we laugh with them all; instead of changing the channel or walking out of a movie when the content is questionable and almost every other word is profane, we just sit there and take it in; instead of eating nutritionally and getting exercise, we talk ourselves out of it. We then justify it all by saying “I just can’t help myself!”
Oh, yes, we can! It’s about letting our flesh be our boss aka be in control of us instead of choosing what Holy Spirit knows what is best for us. Flesh vs Spirit. I want to be on God’s side and His Spirit – conquering and winning over the enemy’s lies. He is NOT our Boss Man! The most exciting and rewarding journey in life is knowing that God is the boss of us and when we yield to His ownership, we please Him and He pleases us with His perfect will being done on earth as it is in heaven in our lives.
And the good news — it’s not a process we have to conquer on our own. God’s Spirit doesn’t boss us around. He is the kind of boss Who comes alongside of us as our Helper, our Confidant, our Guide, our Comforter, and great partner in accomplishing whatever it is we may face. When we think this way, we can break free from those things that have kept us from God’s best. Very soon, we’ll start to realize that we have real authority in Christ. When that happens, every time our flesh tempts us, all we must do is speak Bryson’s words to our flesh “You’re not the boss of me!”
Galatians 5:16–18 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.”