Who's the Boss?

Watching the end of the Pro-Am Golf tournament yesterday, I saw Schnedecker, the winner, tell the tv interviewer, "You've got to do this fast; here comes the boss."  And the camera panned to show his young wife holding a baby on each hip as she approached her husband.  Schnedecker said, "here comes the boss" with so much joy and enthusiasm that his delight was evident.  You just knew that he loved taking orders from his wife, that his 'delight was in the law of [his wife],' to put it in Scriptural terms.

Two of my close friends are a husband and wife, both of whom are gourmet cooks.  One would think that when they cook together, as they often do, that each one would impose his or her way of doing things on the other.  But, as a matter of fact, before they begin each project, they decide ahead of time who's going to be the boss, the general, in the kitchen, and who's going to be the sergeant, the one taking orders.  And the project runs smoothly every time.

I wonder how many of us have consciously decided who's going to be the boss in our spiritual lives.  I think this is what the story of Adam and Eve is all about -- Eve decided, with the help of the serpent, that she wanted to be the boss, based on what she could see and "Know," according to the "knowledge," or "inside information" given to her by the serpent.  I think most of us live our lives as if we were, in fact, the boss of each project we undertake.  How many of us consciously and deliberately surrender control of our projects to the Holy Spirit of God?

Watchman Nee tells in one of his books of how for some time, God had 'exercised' him to write this book.  I know the feeling; when the Spirit wants you to do something, He's pretty good at 'nagging' you into action, and he knows exactly how long it will take for you to respond to Him.  So Nee began to write his book, and he had to discipline himself daily to work on it.  (Again, I know the feeling here.)  And then, he really got into his project; it began to take on a life of its own.  "Now," said Nee, "suppose Jesus returns before I finish writing this book, to take His disciples back to heaven, and I say to Him, 'but what about this book you wanted me to write?'  [i.e. now the project has become more important than listening to orders.]  'Fine,' Jesus will say, 'stay here and finish the book'."

Nothing is more important in our lives than prayer, than listening every day and each moment, to the boss, than communing with the Spirit of God.  We do not know which way the wind blows, nor do we know where and how the Spirit will speak, nor what He will say.  No project of ours is ours--everything belongs to God; He's the boss.  And if we are not listening to His instructions, we cannot expect our projects to succeed.

When I teach my Confirmation class from week to week, I must listen daily to the Spirit; I must pray daily that Jesus, the real Teacher, will give me the words of everlasting life to pass on to these children.  Only He knows what these children need to hear, and where they are spiritually at each moment.  This is not 'my' project; it is His.  And He must complete it according to His plans and thoughts, not mine.  If I fail to listen to Him, I can expect nothing.

I remember once hearing a pastor from South Korea say that he begins each morning acknowledging the Holy Spirit as "the Senior Partner" in his business for the day.  What a concept! 

Today, O Holy Spirit of God, I surrender all my plans and projects into Your hands; guide me in all Your ways, and make Your thoughts known to me.