A few years ago there was a television series entitled “Who’s The Boss?” The show was about a man named Tony who worked for a lady named Angela. The subtle plot behind the show raised a question. The question, who is the real boss? Was it Tony? (or) Was it Angela? I’m sure the show was inspired by societal issues that exist between men and women.
Who is the boss? That is an important question.
• Employees need to know the answer to this question.
• Sports teams need to know the answer to this question.
• Children need to know the answer to this question.
Sometimes the boss is not obvious. The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home telephone number and was greeted with a child’s whispered, "Hello?"
Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, "Is your Daddy home?" "Yes," whispered the small voice.
"May I talk with him?" the man asked. To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No."
Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is you’re Mommy there?" "Yes," came the answer.
"May I talk with her?" Again, the small voice whispered, "No."
Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. "Is there anyone there besides you?" the boss asked the child.
"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman."
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?" "No, he is busy," whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?" asked the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A hello-copper," answered the whispering voice.
"What is going on there?" asked the boss, now alarmed.
In an awed whispering voice, the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper!" Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated, the boss asked, "Why are they there?" Still whispering, the young voice replied (along with a muffled giggle), "They are looking for me!"
(SOURCE: Christian Cheong; Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO)
Like I said, sometimes the boss is not obvious. This question is also true in the spiritual realm. Who is the boss of your life? Is it obvious?
For a text I want to look at Mt. 6:24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (NASV) This verse is like a connecting link. Jesus had been teaching about our view of money. From there he turns his focus to anxiety and worry over things. The key to financial issues and the key to overcoming worry are finding the right boss. The boss I have in mind is the Lord Jesus. Jesus created you for only one boss. You will never be happy unless you commit to His Lordship.
A few years back I was struggling to manage the stress level in my life. I commented to a deacon in our church that I felt like my life was on a freeway. He instructed me that I should “get off of the freeway.” Do you ever feel as if your life is on a freeway and is out of control? I am going to do a series of messages entitled “Get Off of the Freeway.” Today we do the first of these.
So, “Who’s the Boss?” I want to identify some marks that will help you identify the boss in your life.
I. The first mark of a boss is, the boss is at the center of your life. Jesus said “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
A. Your life revolves around your boss. He determines how much money you make. He determines the amount of your free time. He determines what time you arrive at work. When you put this into the larger context of your life this is true in your relationship with God. God is either at the center or not. Dear friend, God desires that your life revolve around Him. God created you and He created you to be a God centered person. Jesus said “No one can serve two masters.”
• In Mt. 6:33 Jesus said “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
• The first commandment is centered around the truth that ‘God comes first.’
B. Because your life revolves around your boss he will affect every area of your life. This is why Jesus followed His discussion about the master with a discussion about worry. If money is the boss of your life then the natural consequence is to worry about your money. If a sport is the boss of your life then it is natural to worry about sports. If food is the boss of your life then it is natural to be obsessed with food.
B. The natural conclusion of this discussion is that there can be only one boss. Someone once asked Mark Twain if he could show the place in the Bible where it says man should have only one wife. Mark Twain turned to this verse. This little joke is free.
There may be two or three things competing for your attention. Sooner or later one of these will win out. Does this mean that in your relationship with God you dump everything and live for God? No, it means you put God before everything else. In other words, if you are an athlete you are a Christian athlete. If you are a business man you are a Christian business man. You cannot divide your life. Some people want to be a Christian on Sunday and live another way during the week. Jesus expects you to be a believer every hour of every day. There can be only one boss.
Illustration: Several years ago I saw a television documentary about Timber wolves. In that show they explained that timber wolves establish a hierarchy. There may be several male wolves in a pack but only one will be the head wolf.
Illustration: A few years back there was a song entitled “Torn Between Two Lovers.” I remember some of the words. “Torn between two lovers feeling like a fool, loving both of them is very hard to do.”
Illustration: When I was in high school I had a friend who tried to date two girls at once. The girls were from different communities located about 30 miles apart. That worked okay as long as the two girls stayed in their respective communities. However, one night both girls showed up at a basketball game at the same time. My friend (literally) went out the back door.
You cannot date two people at the same time. You cannot drive two cars at the same time. You cannot talk on two phones at the same time. Likewise, you cannot serve two gods
II. The second mark of a boss is, he affects your values. Values are the things upon which you place great importance. For instance, if you value traveling and taking vacations you will make sure you get to take vacations and travel. You will clear your calendar and make sure that money is available. If you value Alabama or Auburn football you will make sure you get season tickets. If you value playing golf you will make sure to provide time to play golf. Values are important to you.
Illustration: I followed the New Orleans Saints football team after Hurricane Katrina. Initially they played their games in other cities. Their first season back in the dome, following Katrina, the city rallied around them. I listened to one radio talk show that explained people’s willingness to sacrifice in order to buy season tickets. Supporting the “Saints” was a priority for those people. The radio announcer said he knew of homeless people who bought tickets in order to support the “Saints”. We support what we value.
Your values will be reflected through your priorities. Notice what Jesus said in verse 20. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”
Example: Let’s suppose you have chosen a life value of honoring God with your time and money. In this process you have chosen to honor God with your money by giving a tithe. Over the course of time money gets tight and you are trying to determine your priorities. In that process you must decide between honoring God with your tithe, buying a new car or driving your older car for a couple more years. If your first priority is honoring God, what will you do? Obviously, you will drive the older car so that you might continue to tithe.
Example: Let’s suppose you have chosen a life value of honoring God with your time. In your heart you are convinced that you should gather with believers to pray, study and worship. Over the course of time you begin to run short on time. You have to decide between playing golf and attending worship with God’s people.
Illustration: Values affect priorities. You may have heard the story of the lady who had to evaluate her priorities when the “Titanic” sank. This rich lady was in her cabin when the order to abandon ship was given. There was not time for packing possessions. She noticed two things on her dressing table…her jewel box and a bowl of oranges. She made a rapid assessment of what was most valuable to her in the situation. Wisely she abandoned her jewels and quickly grabbed some oranges that might give nourishment on the open sea whereas jewels would be valueless.
Values affect priorities but they also affect passion. Notice what Jesus said in verse 21. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” For what are you passionate? Are you passionate about sports? Are you passionate about your job? Are you passionate about travel? These things are not bad! What I am trying to do is to get you to compare your priorities. Is God on the radar screen?
Illustration: Bill McCartney retired as the head coach of the Colorado football team several years ago. His reason for retirement was not because he was unsuccessful as a coach. His teams had won the national championship. They had been in the top 10 many times. McCartney said that he was retiring because he wanted to reevaluate his priorities. He said, “I’m leaving coaching, and I’m going to take a whole year to re-evaluate my priorities. Is God first? Is my family second? Is my work third?” And when that year was over, Bill McCartney had dedicated his life & talents to Christ, & threw his efforts into founding the great men’s renewal gatherings that we know today as “Promise Keepers.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by MELVIN NEWLAND)
III. We are addressing the question, who’s the boss? I have identified two marks of a boss. First, the boss is at the center of your life. Second, the boss determines your values. Finally, the boss pays your wages. In this passage Jesus teaches us that your decisions determine your wages. Look at verse 19-20. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”
A. Our wages are going to be eroding or eternal. Jesus refers to moth and rust destroying. The things you and I invest our lives into are going to multiply or erode into nothingness.
Jesus once said “What does it profit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul.”
The things of this life will crumble and fall. Last year I was able to visit my home town, Converse, La. Converse is a small rural town in west central Louisiana. Converse, like many small towns is dying. I was saddened as I rode through the town. Many of the landmarks are falling down. The hospital in which I was born has trees growing through the roof. That hospital represents life. The things of this life are eroding.
This raises an important question. What am I doing to prepare for eternity? What am I doing to contribute to eternity? How do you increase your eternal bank account?
• Walk by faith in Jesus Christ.
• Serve the Lord Jesus.
• Share Jesus with others.
• Support His work.
The boss pays our wages and they are either eroding or eternal. (or) They either strengthen or consume us. Notice what Jesus said in verse 27. “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Your life choices will make you happy or sad! Your life choices will give you peace or make you worry! Your life choices will help you sleep at night or keep you awake.
Illustration: Judy and I have a friend in Mississippi who is a psychologist. Several years back this friend invited me to try a stress test he had installed on his computer. This is how the test worked. You sat in front of a computer and held two wire electrodes in your hand. The wire senses the temperature of your body. When you are stressed you temperature falls. When you are relaxed your temperature rises. As you sat in front of the computer holding the electrodes you watched a race between a rabbit and a turtle. If you relaxed your body the turtle would win. If you stressed your body the rabbit would win. The object was to help the turtle win. Thus, you focused on relaxing and de-stressing your body. You are affected by stress or you are able to relax and release the tensions in your body.
That illustrates the point of this passage. The boss will consume you. If money is your god it will consume you. If sports are your god it will consume you. If your job is your life it will consume you.
Jesus created you for Himself. He wants to be the Lord of your life. As He is allowed to be Lord He will enrich every area of your life.
