THE THERMOSTAT

by Jeanette Berry, October, 1974

Our home has a thermostat in a most unusual place,---on the wall opposite the fireplace.  The cozy fire that is such a pleasure warms the thermostat and the rest of the house gets cold.

That thermostat that controls the temperature of the house can well be likened to the wife and mother in the home.  A warm, radiant, happy home or a cold, dull, lifeless house reflects the attitudes and the actions of the wife and mother of the home.  Don't be like our thermostat satisfied when one room is warm.  Realize your full responsibility to be all that God intended.  Because of this God speaks in His Word to the wife specifically.

1st Peter says that God considers a meek and a quiet spirit of great price.  I don't think a quiet spirit comes naturally to a woman.  Our spirit is like a monster that must be tamed.  Worry, hysterical fears, nervousness, and "the jitters" have no place in the home God ordained. I have heard the quaint saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".  In spite of the language, I think that is true.  God gave a blueprint for a home with the wife/mother at ease, with bright, sparkling eyes, and a confident smile.  Peace  and trust follows a quiet spirit and sets the temperature for the home.

Proverbs 31 tells us that "the law of kindness should be in our mouths."  Again, this is not necessarily a natural characteristic, but one that is absolutely necessary for the spiritual temperature.  How fitting that God directed it to the woman.  We speak kindly to our friends, neighbors, and even to strangers and then neglect this virtue with the most important people,---our husband, children, and other family members.  Our message is carried by the manner in which we speak far more than the actual words we use.  Nevertheless, I have learned to appreciate this little verse,
               "I try to watch the words I speak,  to keep them soft and sweet,
               For I don't know from day to day which ones I'll have to eat!" 
Make kindness a law in your life and you will be surprised what it does to the temperature of your home. 

Love is a necessity for the proper temperature, and again the wife is the controlling factor.  Love must be expressed.  You have a great opportunity to do little things for each member of your family to express your love and teach them to do so.

If the atmosphere of your home is cold, then check your thermostat--you!  Let others see Christ in your home by the warmth of peace, love, kindness.  And be  an example of a meek and quiet spirit which is of great price in the eyes of God.
 


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