Who’s The Boss?

Decisions, decisions. Don’t they plague us? And we cannot, in all conscience,
take every decision to the Lord. He has gifted us with the ‘as of self’, has empowered us with rationality, and has given women, in particular, wonderfully sensitive intuition. Our antennae are out, ready for action.

For the main part we can cope with the more basic needs that Abraham Maslow, humanistic psychologist, perceived in our psyche. He reasoned that human beings have a hierarchy of needs, and that as these become more sophisticated and inner directed, they shift from survival tactics to deeper psychological drives. Unless we are particularly unfortunate we can cope with hunger, thirst and safety. Most of us satisfy our ‘belonging’ needs and are able to esteem ourselves on the road to self-actualization. We can achieve our potential if we work hard and are given opportunities in life.

But as spiritual New Christian women we need to strive for more. We aim to transcend the self into a reliance on the Lord. By living prayerfully, we can come to see the Lord as the chief influence and activator in our lives. Self esteem is all very well if it leads to serving others, but trust in the Lord should be the ultimate goal in our other-centred lives.

So when we make significant decisions we need to bend our whim and will to a higher order. We need to consider how our decisions will benefit others. Will they fit into the hierarchy of the Lord first, family next, work demands third, and friends, hobbies and habits to follow? Or will we be compelled to promote our image, follow fashion, brands, trends and compulsions? Are we in hot pursuit of ‘reputation, honour and gain’? Do we want something or really need it? Are we worthy stewards of the earth or do we waste its resources? Do we share with the needy? Should we abandon our comfort zones in pursuit of the Lord’s will?

As women, in particular, we are involved in the morality of balance. We try to ensure that we do not neglect our Lord, our children, and the myriad uses that we have accumulated. We need to budget our time, our energies, our resources and listening capacity. On the way to wisdom we will send frequent SOSs to the Lord until we understand ourselves, our gifts and our limitations. We need to listen to the ‘still, small voice’ of our Life-Coach as we become skilled in fulfilling His purpose through prayerful dedication.

For always and forever, He is the Boss.

About Verna Brown

Verna Brown was born in the north of Scotland in 1942 and followed the sun with her parents and grandmother to Durban, South Africa in 1948. She joined the New Church at 20, and was married to Kenneth Brown in 1964 in the Musgrave Road Church. They have 4 married children and 8 grandchildren. Verna has a DLitt et Phil degree, as well as a further degree in education. She has taught and lectured, and loves her lively Sunday School class at Buccleuch in Gauteng (Transvaal) as well as the classes she offers in her own home for U3A (the University of the Third Age: i.e. retirees). She looks forward to contributing to New Christian Woman as a mature (?) member. Greetings to you all.

2 thoughts on “Who’s The Boss?

  1. Wonderful to hear your strong, insightful voice again Verna. Thank you for an article that expresses your life experience in a way that cuts through to the nub of the matter. I loved the words ‘morality of balance’ as applied to women – beautiful.

  2. Thank you for this refreshing, insightful reflection, Verna! I appreciate the validation that we women have a lot on our plates (!), and your tactful mixing of theology with, shall I say, ‘the real world’ (Maslow, in this case). And thank you for the mandate (as it were) to reach higher. “We can achieve our potential if we work hard and are given opportunities in life. … But as spiritual New Christian women we need to strive for more.” It’s a helpful reminder to lift our heads up and shoot higher than the physical realm. “So when we make significant decisions we need to bend our whim and will to a higher order.” Yes! And “morality of balance” – another ‘yes’.

    Thanks for this gentle, firm reminder. 🙂

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