I sat at the table with my wife. She wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it over to me. I looked at the number, laughed on the inside, and then with a straight face crossed her number out and wrote a different number. Then I slid it back. The numbers were our thermostat negotiations. The thermostat is very important in our home because it controls so much.
In your day-to-day life, who are you to other people? Are you a thermostat or are you a thermometer? Are you someone who reacts to your environment? Do you go with the flow, are easily persuaded, and let your emotions get the best of you? Or are you the thermostat? Do you dictate the temperature in the room and influence others around you?
Are we the iron that sharpens our brothers or sisters?
God calls us to be thermostats. When the room gets too cold, we are to warm it up with a smile or an encouraging word. When it gets too heated, we are to cool it off with level-headed thinking and words of wisdom from the Bible. And His love, through us, is the thing that controls so much.
We shouldn't let the fact that someone cuts us off in traffic or says unkind words raise our temperature. Instead, we should seek to remain cool and calm. God wants to use us to influence others in a positive way. Be obedient to the Word by being a thermostat, not a thermometer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the power to change my surroundings and not to let my surroundings change me. Give me the wisdom to recognize the difference. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Go Deeper — Do you find yourself in situations where you cannot control your emotions and you wish that you could? Close your eyes, take several deep breaths, say a prayer, or repeat Bible verses you have memorized about being at peace. Research other relaxation techniques until it becomes second nature to not let your surroundings control you.
Photo Credit: Joao Tzanno