I heard the story of two children who were playing a game. One of the children, the older of the two, began telling the younger child what he was supposed to be doing. After listening for a bit, the younger child looked up at the older and said, ‘You are not the boss of me.’
Today I want us to ponder the question, “Who is the boss of you?”
I once worked with a woman who was very adamant that she did not have a boss. She had an employer, but not a boss. She was unwilling to place herself in submission to anyone and her attitude toward the word ‘boss’ made that very evident.
Each of us has someone or something that is the boss of us and a master to whom we bow in submission. The ideal boss of our lives is God. For some, though, the boss of their life could be another person, or perhaps a habit or stronghold. For many years, anorexia was the boss of me. I allowed it to determine the course of my life and dictate virtually every move I made.
The name of God that we delve into today, Adonai, means Lord and Master. If God is Adonai to you, He is the one to whom you submit or bow down; He is the Boss of your life. Adonai is the ultimate authority figure in your life and the One to whom you owe your allegiance.
The first time we find this name for God is in Genesis 15: 1-2.
“After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me, since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?“
Abram had followed God out of his homeland and into a new and strange land. He had relied on God to care for him and his family. Yet, in this passage, Abram seems to despair of ever having the one thing that would seem bring him satisfaction. (Perhaps Sarai’s constant fretting over not bearing children had something to do with this????) He believed that he needed a son in order to be complete and fulfilled.
Despite the Lord telling Abram that He, God, was Abram’s very great reward, Abram said, in effect, “Yes, but there is something else I want and need. Something that is more important to me than you.” Abram was calling God ‘Adonai’ with his lips, but he had not truly allowed God to be the Lord and Master of his life in the area of an heir.
How often do we say with our lips that God is our Adonai; the Boss, the King, the Ruler of our lives, yet with our actions we convey something very different? Again, I ask you…….who or what is the boss of you?
