I am second

I like to be in charge. There, I said it. I am not a control-freak or anything. I just like everything to go my way, every time, every day. I like calling the shots, generating movement, charting direction. There is something thrilling about getting to say what happens and when, as long as people play along. The problem is people don’t always play along. Being in charge is great, as long as there are no other people. Other people make it tough because there is a common misconception out there. This misconception is that I am not in charge but rather other people seem to think they are in charge. They like calling the shots, generating movement, charting direction. I am fine with that, so long as they do what I tell them, but somehow they didn’t get the memo. Some of them actually have the audacity to suggest that I missed the memo, the memo that put them in charge. And so there you have it, the great problem with the world as we know it. People do not realize I am in charge. If they would just recognize that I am the boss, that I am first, then the world would be a whole lot simpler.

Even though people continue to refuse my rightful place as first among many, Grand Poobah of all living things, I must not give up the quest to execute my role. I will seek to direct all happenings in my life and in the lives of all others. Those who yield to my beneficent reign will find their lives rightly ordered, and those who refuse? Well. . .I will bend them to my will and break them if necessary. A small price to pay for the experience of a life rightly ordered, ordered by me, that is.

In short, I am first, the best, the greatest, the one before whom you shall bend your knee and find yourself properly blessed because you have done things the proper way, my way. The title of king seems a bit presumptuous but if the title fits, why not use it? King Blake. I like the sound of that.

Lately, I have been hearing some rumblings out there about my kingship. No, these are not rumblings from the commoners. I am quite capable of dealing with the stray malcontent. The rumblings I am hearing are of a different sort. It seems that there is this other fellow out there who claims to be king. Apparently he thinks that he has the right to call the shots, generate movement, and chart direction. He even is under the impression that if I will yield to his reign then I will find my life rightly ordered and blessed, because I do things his way. I have had a few run-ins with this fellow here and there. He seems to be nice enough, but he is adamant about this idea that he is king. Here and there I run into people who agree that he is king. Some just give him lip service, but there are a few who really mean it. What is amazing about these folks is that their lives really do seem to work, at least they work a good bit better than mine. They don’t seem to be all that anxious. Why should they be? They don’t have a kingdom to run. They don’t seem to have as many problems with people. Keeping the commoners in line is always a dirty, time-consuming job. They seem to function quite happily, their lives ordered because they live his way.

I suppose being king is great, but sometimes it is hard work. I wonder, really wonder what it would be like to just let someone else run things for a while. What would it be like to allow someone else to worry about what is and what will be, how to make things happen and to keep other things from happening? How great would it be to let someone else deal with those malcontents who want to go their own way. It sounds delightful, but then I hesitate, because if that were to be I would no longer be able to claim to be king. I would have to say that I am second.

A fellow traveler,

Blake

What’s my next step?

We encourage you to consider engaging in the following as a way of handing off faith in your family.

Pray the disciple’s prayer:  Life was meant to be lived with God sitting upon the throne. However, we do not naturally relate to God as the one who has the right to call the shots. This week, consider encouraging your child to approach God as the one who rightfully sits upon the throne by leading him to memorize and pray the disciple’s prayer (Matthew 6.9-13). Look for opportunities to pray this with your child at key moments, such as at bedtime, being open to discussing the deeper meanings of what it means to approach God in the way Jesus describes.

We encourage you to consider engaging in the following as a way of deepening your own faith.

Consider who sits upon your throne:  One of the biggest questions in life we must each answer is the question of who is in charge. Who has the right to direct and guide our lives? Either we direct our lives or someone else directs it for us. Before we can decide who gets to call the shots we have to discern who is already calling the shots. This week, consider asking a simple question: Who is sitting on the throne? You might ask this question throughout your week in various situations and settings. You might ask this of yourself but we encourage you to ask it of God. Seek his input on the matter as you discern who is really in charge.