Thermostats or Thermometers

You have a choice. You can either reflect the climate around you, or set it! When you know your values, principles, and the God who drives those characteristics...you CAN set the tone for those around you in the best possible way!

I remember times when I didn't feel very well so Mom would go to the medicine box and grab the thermometer. She'd put it under my tongue (if I was lucky) and wait the right amount of time to see what my body temperature registered. It would let her know whether or not I had a fever.

I also remember when I was growing up, I would sneak down the hall after my parents went to bed and turn down the temperature on the thermostat. I wanted the house to be cooler and wanted the noise from the air conditioning unit, located below my second story window, to kick on and provide some noise so I could sleep better.

We have all come to understand that taking your temperature with a thermometer and changing the temperature with a thermostat are two totally different things! They are not interchangeable! If you want knowledge about the temperature you would use a thermometer, and if you want to affect change to the temperature you use a thermostat!

This is a great lesson for us as Christians! The Bible says that we are here to be salt and light to the world around us (Matt. 5:13-14). We will be different. We will be influencers for the Kingdom. Our lives should reflect the change God has made in us and point others to Him! "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt 5:16

We must know God in such a strong way that His characteristics and His Word are the compass that guides our values and decisions squarely toward Him.

In 2003, a very popular athlete admitted to committing adultery when a woman accused him of sexual assault. Just two weeks before he had been on TV talking about the importance of athletes being examples for kids today. Authenticity...being real...strong moral compass...Talk is cheap!

When we have influence with others, we must have a compass that influences us. Philip Kennicott, culture critic for the Washington Post, says that Americans have become the "most primitive opportunists." Senator Richard Shelby says that when leaders fail, they are "not contrite, and simply consider the fines and penalties as a means to make the problem go away." Penalties don't transform a thermometer into a thermostat. It's an inside job.

Read...Luke 6:46-49...

Jesus asked an interesting question: How can we call Him "Lord" and not live by the values He lays out for us? Why is there a gap between what we say and what we do?

Allow God to use you! Not just to know what the spiritual climate is around you...but to be a vehicle of spiritual change for those around you!

*Check out the book Habitudes by Tim Elmore. Many more great ideas along this line!

Read it...or don't... (lol)

This title reminds me of a commercial by Rhett and Link that I think is pretty funny. Anyway...

I'm going to be writing again. I need to refocus and stay on track. So I'm going to be writing about things that are catching my attention. Some days may be funny, some serious, and some just my opinion of the events at hand. Not sure you'll see much Friday - Sunday...but maybe...

Feel free to read along...or don't...

Have an awesome day!

I John 4:7-8