“What does the word lord mean?” my pastor asked from the pulpit on Sunday morning. “It means boss,” came his simple answer.

 

Interchangeable terms: lord means boss—boss means lord.

 

I suppose someone is the boss of everything. We all like to think we are the boss of something—our own lives, at least. Even the youngest among us, attempting to declare independence from their parents, sometimes say: “You’re not the boss of me!”

 

Many Christians openly say that “Jesus is Lord.” We use the term loosely. By that, do we mean Jesus is the boss of our lives? If we call Him Lord, then indeed, that is what we mean.

 

I’ve always considered myself a good employee, but sometimes I wonder how I measure up to what the Boss tells me to do? Certainly, I do not want to hear these words, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?”¹ Ever wonder who Jesus might be talking to here.

 

A poem written more than ten years ago, titled “Since Self is on the Throne,”² speaks to that very issue. It also speaks to the inevitable fact that dying-to-self is a lifetime struggle for most of us. Sprinkled with a hint of humor, a touch of satire, the poem exposes the crux of our modern-day, rights-oriented culture.

 

Is it possible a poem could help us see ourselves more clearly—reveal the very things that keep us from experiencing the victorious and powerful Christ-like, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life that Jesus promised to us?

 

Might we even laugh at ourselves—if in fact we see similarities within our own character? Those things Jesus could easily discern in all men. The Bible says that Jesus didn’t trust men because, “He knew what was in man.”³ He knows our hearts, our motives, and certainly, who is in our throne room. He knows, regardless of what we say loosely.

 

Perhaps, God will speak through a poem to help us identify who the Boss is in our house (our bodily temple). We might uncover the answer to the obvious:  Is Jesus actually on the throne of our lives where He rightfully belongs—that is, if we openly call Him Lord?

 

The poem is posted separately under the title “Since Self is on the Throne.”¹ We just never know what God might use to unearth the treasures that await all who seek. ~ Janie Kellogg

 

¹Luke 6:46

²Treasure in Earthen Vessels, “Since Self is on the Throne,” a poem, March 6, 2013

³John 2:24-25