Influence

Ok, I will try to keep this short today. No real verse to read or dissect. Just a thought I had walking into work this morning. The thought was about influence. I started thinking to myself. I said, "Self, do you influence anyone, or are you influenced by someone?" The answer I got back was sobering. In my life, probably 90%-95% of the time, I am influenced by others. I let them dictate my thoughts concerning decisions I need to make. This could be little stuff like where to eat out or what types of PT exercises to do. But, it is also in the larger decisions, like what to do with my life, where to move, who to hang out with, where to go to church...and the list goes on. It kind of saddened me to realize that I spend most of my time seeking answers from everybody else rather than trusting my own ability to communicate with God via the Holy Spirit. Two thoughts and I'm done.

1) While it is well and good to bounce your ideas and thoughts off trusted friends and family, they are not the ones responsible for making those decisions. We must have confidence in what the Holy Spirit is telling us. The Holy Spirit will more than likely speak more clearly to you and your spouse than to someone else. Also, you have no idea what other experiences are affecting the filter through which someone is looking at your situation. Even if the trusted confidant is speaking with the most sincere desire to help you and see you make the right choice, they still might miss what God wants to tell you. So, accept and be thankful for the advise, but realize, ultimate accountability for our decisions rests on us. God won't hold them responsible for choices we make or fail to make. Let the Holy Spirit by your primary influence.

2) In all relationships, there's the influencer and the influencee. God calls us to be the influencer. Obviously, if we're in the midst of sin, we should be open to the influence of a Christian spouse or brother that is telling us to repent. Think of Nathan and King David. But, aside from that, I believe that we are called to influence others for Christ to do the right things. That could be as simple as influencing someone to focus on God's blessings, living a joyful life, what activities we invest our time in, and to the jokes we tell/laugh at. These truths are constant whether the relationship is with a fellow believer or a non-believer.

I believe, however, the influence I'm talking about is not the abusive influence that insults, hurts, or judges. That kind of influence only causes the believer to stumble and the non-believer to rebel. The influence I'm talking about is the calm, constant, loving influence that, day-after-day, through loving actions and sincerity, convince someone that there is something to this Christian faith. It is 10% what we say and 90% what we do, day in and day out. Hearing me say that trusting God is the only way to live might impact your life a little. But watching me trust in God, no matter what the circumstances, over a span of time while I'm saying to trust in God will have a tremendous impact. Obviously, don't avoid calling a sin a sin. Just do it with gentleness and love. Remember, we're all sinners. Rebuke how you want to be rebuked.

How do we do this? The answer is to put your confidence in God and live your life in a way that says, "I believe that God is who He says He is and fulfills His promises." Being confident in who God is will allow you to live the life of an influencer because you will be able to make tough decisions, trusting that God is guiding you. Also, you won't feel the need to submit to someone else's ideas and/or example of behavior because you know you've submitted to the Most High God and that He's taking care of you. One thing I've found is that, most of the time, if I allow myself to be influenced by others, I'm really seeking their approval. The only approval we need is from God. We get that by being His child and by obeying Him. He says, "Trust me." So, let's do it and let's influence others as we go! God bless you all!