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August 26, 2021I have a confession to make. I think I’m a hypocrite. No seriously, I really think I am. The other night I had a great talk with my youngest son who is just entering the world of high school. It’s a conversation that has been repeated in our home numerous times over the years as each child hit this significant milestone.
The topic stems back to something my dad said to me years ago when I was at a similar juncture in life. He used different words. “Be a thermostat Jimmy! We don’t need any more thermometers.” My dad was a man of few words, so that’s about all I got. My brother and I were often left trying to figure out what he meant from his cryptic conversations with us. We were farm boys, so we had many early mornings doing chores together where we would laugh and imitate his strange advice to us. I remember those days with a great fondness. It’s interesting, though, how much his words stuck with me.
A thermostat sets the temperature, while a thermometer registers and changes with it. My dad’s point was simple – remember who you are, and don’t let the world of high school change you. That was the talk I was trying to have with my son the other night. As he was getting ready to enter that world, I wanted to encourage him to be a leader, not a follower; to be someone who changes the world around him rather the world around him changing him. I kept repeating those words to him, “Remember who you are!”
I woke up the next day for my early morning prayer time, and suddenly was convicted. For several months, as work and life have been very busy and stressful, I have been more of a thermometer than a thermostat. When you look at my day-to-day life and interactions, I think most people would observe, “Wow, Jim seems really busy. He’s got a lot going on.” I’ve been stressed, irritable, anxious – especially at home with my family. It led to a second, and even better conversation with my son. One that started with me acknowledging how poorly I had been doing “setting” the temperature in my own little world.
The rest of this article is more for my own sake, but I hope the process is beneficial for you as well. I think all of us at times stray from who we are and get overly burdened with life’s circumstances. It’s good for us to take time periodically to check the temperature. You don’t stay a thermostat without intentional effort. It’s something you need to return to frequently, sometimes every day, just to remind yourself what the real aim is. I need a reset – I need to remember who “I” am! And, I need to set the thermostat according to that reality.
Here’s my new setting:
- I’m a son of God, and I have the very life of God in me. Everywhere I go, I carry that significant life force. And, that life is one that is filled with joy, hope, purpose and meaning! Even the mundane aspects of my life, including at times overwhelming burdens, take on a whole new meaning.
- Nothing can separate me from that love and that life of God. Not burdens, not busyness, not even tragedy or sickness, not even death (See Romans 8:39-8-39). I don’t live under my circumstances, rather the power of God has the unique capacity to help me rise above them!
- I am meant to live my life in the right direction, which is outward facing, toward others, aware of others’ needs more than my own, and constantly looking for ways that I can help, serve, love and be a source of hope and support. When I live like that, it’s not just me who people encounter, it’s Jesus within me who they meet!
Do you feel the temperature changing? It’s feeling a whole lot better in here. On the drive to school this morning with my son we talked about all this again. He commented that he can see a change in me. Maybe I’m not a hypocrite after all – phew! Or better yet, I found the remedy for my hypocrisy: awareness, humility in the face of it, quick repentance and willing embrace of new behavior, all fueled by grace and the Holy Spirit.
Praise God for the active life of discipleship! I’m pretty sure this is what it’s all about. As I drove away from dropping off Brian, I could still hear my dad’s voice ringing in my mind, “Be a thermostat Jimmy!”