The boy sat stubbornly on the couch, a tape recorder beside him. “Why do I have to tell a story about when I was little? It’s my life,” he said fiercely. Because he didn’t want to do it, the assignment became miserable.

The girl stood stiffly and frowned as the younger children laughed and played in the backyard. “They don’t listen to me,” she muttered angrily. “Now they are ruining the whole game!” Because the others didn’t follow her lead, she wasn’t happy.

Who’s in Charge?

Have you felt like this before? Most of us have. We don’t want to be controlled by other people and told what to do. As soon as children know a few things they want to make their own decisions. Don’t I hear you saying “Leave me alone. I can do it by myself!”? And, like many children, you may even want to control others. I was the oldest child in my family and I know it is easy for Big Sister or Big Brother to be “the boss” and tell the younger ones what to do—or what not to do. Often they don’t like it very much and complain. After all, they want to be in charge of their own lives, too, don’t they?

But who is really in charge? Do I hear you say “Mom and Dad” or “grown-ups”? Yes, they have been given the job of being in charge of the children. But even they are not really in control of everything. Who made the thunderstorms and grizzly bears and the great mountains? Who gave us our minds and health and strength? Who knows EVERYTHING and has ALL power? Yes, it is the Lord, the Almighty God.

Many times people want to forget about the God who made them. They think their life is their own and they can live it like they want to. But do you think they can? No, God is in charge and He has designed consequences for those that will not listen and obey. Just like the girl who flew through the window of the van because she didn’t want to put on her seatbelt. Do you want to end up flattened on the road? I don’t think so. God cares about what happens to you. That is why He gave us the Bible and sent Jesus to show us how to live. Do you think Jesus just came to be your buddy friend? No, He came to be the Lord and Master of our lives—the Boss.

You might say, “I don’t want to be told what to do!” Oh, dear friend, I am afraid for you. If you think that you can run your life the way you want it, you will find yourself in terrible trouble. God did not make us smart enough to make all the right decisions. What did Adam and Eve do when they did things their own way? Got us all into lots of trouble. And that is what you’ll do if you refuse to let God have control in your life. You’ll mess it all up. (It is sort of like if a dad and his five-year-old son switched places. What a disaster that would be!)

Are you afraid to let Jesus have the controls? Let me tell you a secret—when I let Jesus be Lord in my heart, He didn’t “boss me around”—He has always been caring and loving. But He won’t be Lord in your life if you don’t let Him be Lord of everything. You can’t say, “You can tell me how to behave at school or with my friends, but I’m going to pick which games to play.” Nor can you say, “I’ll act how you want, but inside I’ll think what I want!” Jesus knows just what you need and how to make you really happy. He wants you to open your life to Him so He can be in charge and make it go like it should.