Men's Moments

by Bob Wilson

One of the things that I enjoy about retirement is no one can boss me around. If I want to get involved in something, I don’t have to ask permission to do it.  But, usually my “business partner” and I may have some discussions about it first.

In my working years, most of them at Western Electric – Lucent, I had a variety of supervisors or bosses, many who I respected, but some I didn’t.  Being a job foreman who assigned work schedules to others, I worked closely with most of my bosses.  Our job was to meet output quotas set by higher-ups and if you wanted to advance in management, you met them.  Being an hourly worker, I was at the top of my pay grade. I wasn’t as concerned about advancement, but the supervisors I worked with were always looking to move up.

There were two types of supervisors:  Those who ruled with respect and those who ruled with fear.  A lot of times I was caught in the middle between an hourly worker who did their best with the work assignments they were given and an angry boss who didn’t care why they weren’t completed.  The boss who understood the reasons of work not getting done were the ones who got everyone’s respect.  It made my job easier also.

Jesus was an authority figure. When he spoke, people listened and most of them did what he said.  Why? Because, except for the religious leaders, most of the people respected him and accepted him as someone special.

Today, we know that he is the Creator and absolute ruler of the universe. He has all authority and he has the right to tell us how to live. He has power over all forces, natural, physical, and spiritual.  Whenever you read Jesus’ teachings, see them as your mandate for living. Read them as if they were directed right at you. Jesus didn’t come just to inspire us, but to lay claim to us. Can you call him Lord, Master, King?

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Push the boat out further in the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.”  “Master,” Simon answered, “we have worked hard all night long and caught nothing.  But if you say so, I will let down the nets.”  They let them down and caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break.  Luke 5: 4-7