Like a Boss - Week 2

INTRODUCTION

1 MINUTE

There is a TV show that has been off the air for quite some time now, but you can still catch it on reruns. It is about a group of people that are led by a boss that really does not seem to have a clue. This boss makes outrageous statements, leads with a sincere lack of wisdom and never really knows what is really happening, but yet they still seem to get work done.

My first thought in watching this is that so many comedy shows have similar characters—a bad boss, a ridiculous teacher, a bumbling parent, and a dysfunctional leader. It makes for great entertainment, because a comedy show with a “bad leader” plot is always relatable.

Right now, most of you can probably think of an authority figure in your life who deserves their own TV comedy with their own theme song.

· Maybe it’s someone you work for.

· Maybe it’s your coach.

· It might be one or both of your parents.

· Or it might be someone else who’s left in charge of you at your house.

But unfortunately, there’s no director to yell “cut” to end the scene. There’s no commercial break. And at no point does the show end with a nicely-tied bow. This show is your life, but you’re probably not laughing.

TENSION

2 MINUTES

In part one of this series we said, “Life is better when you honor the boss.” And I imagine many of you asked this question: “Yeah, but what about when your boss is ________.”

· Lazy?

· Irresponsible?

· Disrespectful?

· Dumb?

· Wrong?

What do I do we do then?

Are we required to be good to bad leaders? Does God actually want me to follow a leader who isn’t doing what God says or leading how God wants them to lead? Am I required to be a good follower when my parent, teacher, or coach is clearly a bad leader?

Or maybe more specifically . . .

· Am I allowed to be disrespectful?

· Can I make fun of them and insult them behind their back since they deserve it?

· How can I protect myself from this leader who’s doing a bad job?

· What can I count on God to do? If my authorities are supposedly accountable to God and being used by Him, then what does He do when my leaders are just not worth following?

These are really good, honest questions. I bet all of us have asked them at some point or another—including me. Dealing with authorities who don’t live up to their responsibility is one of the most challenging things you’ll have to deal with in life. Because the truth is, we’ll always have some sort of authority over us, and it won’t always be good.

And although this is complicated, the good news is that God has given us a starting point for how to be a good follower of a bad leader.

TRUTH

7 MINUTES

Today we’re going to look at a passage of Scripture that the apostle Paul wrote. Paul is probably the most famous Christian ever. He’s responsible for the spread of the Gospel all over the Roman Empire, and most of the documents we have in our New Testament are written by him.

In the letter to the church at Colossae, Paul talks a lot about our view of, and approach to, authority. Many of the scenarios and instructions given by Paul are not only challenging, but also very emotional, because some of Paul’s readers were under terrible leadership.

It’s important to note that Paul loved and cared about the people he was writing to. Paul risked his life, and eventually lost his life, so people could hear the life-changing truth that came with following Jesus. So we can rest assured that whatever Paul wrote to them, he did it in hopes of making their life better!

In one section of his letter when Paul was addressing authority, he said this:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters . . . (Colossians 3:23 NIV).

Right out of the gate, Paul is challenging people to obey their authority and do their work with all their heart, as if they were working for the Lord. In other words, no matter how good or bad your authority is, you should picture yourself working for God instead.

This sounds nice, but what if . . .

· They go from bad to worse as a leader?

· They couldn’t care less what’s wise, fair, or right?

· They’re mean?

· They lie?

· They single you out (in a bad way)?

· They don’t help you get any better or smarter?

But according to Paul, this isn’t a “they” situation. This is about God and you. Your part is to obey Him and work hard. In fact, don’t just work hard, work with all your heart, thinking about work as if you’re doing it for God instead of the people you have to follow. The working hard part—that’s your role, and it has nothing to do with whether your authority is wise or foolish.

While you’re doing your part, God will do His. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, He goes on to say this:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism (Colossians 3:24-25 NIV).

An inheritance was something children would get from their parents once their parents passed away. But the people Paul wrote to weren’t eligible to get an inheritance from their authority figures. They would get nothing. But Paul reminds them, “Hey, God has your back. Your inheritance is His responsibility.”

The same is true of you: your future, your opportunities, and your joy. All of it is God’s part to take care of you.

But that’s not all it says: God’s part is also to take care of them. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs. By who? God. You have a bad boss, coach, or teacher? Don’t worry, God will handle them. We don’t how or when, but we do know that God isn’t sleeping on the job. He’s aware, and an authority figure’s poor treatment of you doesn’t slip past Him unnoticed. How He handles them? That’s His job to figure out, not yours. So don’t worry about it. Just do your part and work hard!

So following a bad or incompetent or frustrating leader starts with this: Do your part and trust God with His. Here’s another way to think about it:

Control what you can control, and trust God with what you can’t.

You’re not going to escape the problem of having to follow imperfect people. But God is not giving us a free pass to disobey, mock, insult, or dishonor those people.

But I don’t want to stop there. I want to look at another passage from the book of Acts. Acts is the story of the early Church after the resurrection of Jesus. It’s when the disciples started trying to figure out what to do next.

In this passage, Peter and John, two of Jesus’ original disciples, were preaching the good news of Jesus. They had just gotten arrested for it by officials and were told not to say another word about Jesus. By the way, these leaders were the LEADERS OF THEIR COUNTRY. They told Peter and John to directly disobey what Jesus told them—to NOT spread the Gospel.

And so here are two young guys, Peter and John, who are terrified. They’re in front of these officials, wondering what to do next.

And the same Peter who betrayed Jesus and lied about knowing Him to a teenage girl the night of Jesus’ arrest—that same Peter steps up and says this:

“Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19b-20 NLT).

In other words, “Sorry boss, no can do. Jesus very clearly told us to talk about the Gospel everywhere. And you just told us not to. You’ll have to make your own decision about whether we should follow you or follow God, but we’ve already made ours. We’re following God.”

And maybe like me, you read this and think, “Um, isn’t this the opposite of what we just talked about? Isn’t this disobeying authority?” And the short answer is yes. This is where following Jesus can sometimes feel tricky. The truth is, there may be times when the right thing to do is to respectfully, humbly, and compassionately defy an authority in your life because they lead you AGAINST what’s right or wise.

If an authority in your life ever leads or invites you to do something that’s wrong, immoral, dangerous, unwise, or against the will of God for your life, you need to tell them no. You need to lift your head and say, “I have no intent to disrespect you, but no ma’am or no sir, I can’t follow you there.” In other words, there will be times in life when you have to honor but not obey.

But those times are probably few and far between. And figuring out how to handle them is tricky. That’s why we want each of you to have a small group leader and other adults in your life who love you, want what’s best for you, and can guide you through tough situations like this.

Most of the time, leaders won’t ask you to do something illegal or immoral. But there will be times when they’re not great. According to what we’ve looked at today, I think our takeaway is to control what we can control, and trust God with what we can’t. Sometimes, through our obedience and hard work, God will change our leaders’ hearts and attitudes. But even if He doesn’t, He will still take care of you. And yes, He’ll take care of them, too.

APPLICATION

2 MINUTES

For those of you who live in the reality of having an authority who’s hard to follow, I’m sorry. If they let you down with their poor decisions, attitudes, or modeling, it should never be that way.

But if it is, I want to give you three practical steps to help you navigate moving forward:

1. FORGIVE. Remember, all of us are human. We’re imperfect people who are loved by a perfect Savior. If our authority figures are good enough for Jesus to forgive, they’re good enough for us to forgive, too. Maybe they don’t deserve it, and maybe they’ll never change. But all we can control is choosing to forgive them.

2. BE RESPONSIBLE. Irresponsible actions will almost always lead to terrible outcomes. Do your best to make the right choices regardless of what others are doing. This includes honoring those in authority over you.

3. LEAD UP. When the adult authority figures in your life choose not to act like adults, someone has to. You may not actually be the boss, but if you choose to have a better attitude, treat people well, serve others, and act responsibly, your actions may speak louder than the one in authority. OR, you may inspire your leader to lead differently. You can’t control them, but you can control you.

Do your part, and trust God with His. When we respect our authority and honor God with our actions, it’s pleasing to him. God wants to do amazing things in us and through us! And choosing to respect our authority by controlling what we can control opens the door for Him to maximize the potential He’s placed in each one of us.

LANDING

1 MINUTE

In whatever situation you currently deal with, imagine what it would look like if you stepped up and became the one who leads others? You don’t have to have the official title of “boss” to be the boss. Your attitude, decisions, and example can have an incredible impact.

Ultimately, this was the example Jesus set for each of us. He was under the authority of government officials and leaders who didn’t act appropriately. He was treated unfairly. Yet in every circumstance, He maintained respect, led by example, and maximized the full potential of what God the Father had placed in Him.

If you and I want to experience freedom and joy in our interactions with authority figures in our lives, we have to choose to do our part. You can’t control your parents, teachers, coaches, or anyone else that you answer to. But you can control you. And that’s how you live LIKE A BOSS!