We all know the difference between thermometers and thermostats, right?

Thermometers measure the temperature in a room. Thermostats set the temperature in a room.

God gives us divine appointments in this life. He allows us to have influence in places and situations. We have opportunities to influence family, neighbors and co-workers for the Kingdom of God.

A thermometer in your family, neighborhood and workplace only takes the spiritual temperature or conforms to its environment. A thermostat sets the spiritual temperature in any environment it’s in.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2, New Living Translation

Paul pleads with us to give our whole selves as a sacrifice for the Kingdom so that we won’t be copies of the world around us, but to impact the world.

Which would you rather do? Do you want to copy those around you in the everyday situations, or have Kingdom influence by setting the spiritual temperature in your family, neighborhood and workplace?