Leading and Being Led

There a clever little phrase:

Are you a thermometer or thermostat?

The idea being that one adjusts to the temperature, the other alters it.

The part of me that leans into a leadership role hears the pull to be the thermostat. "Influence those around you." "Connect with people in ways that affect positive change." "Make a difference." Dare I even reference something Jesus said.

But I also hear the pull to be the thermometer. There's wisdom in adjusting ourselves to the right kinds of voices speaking into our lives. If we don't yet have it all figured out and we still have room to grow and improve and we have helpful, caring people speaking into our lives, it's arrogant foolishness to remain unchanged.

I'll reconcile this faulty choice by saying it's a "Both-And" situation with this long, rambling sentence: We need to diligently listen to God and the voices of wise counsel He's placed in our lives so that we may continually be adjusting our lives in obedience to Him, AND, at the same time, we must be sharing and showing that which we do know and have attained with the people around us in hopes of helping them to grow in maturity. This, to me, is what Paul wrote about to the Corinthians and what Jesus had in mind.