By Ann Weaver
Influence:
The capacity to have the effect on a character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.
(New Oxford American Dictionary)
Influence. Vitally important, yet so easy to overlook when it relates to you. We can see it in other people, but when it comes to looking at ourselves, we often miss the biggest affects on our own lives.
How do influences affect us? How do we affect others? There are many ways. There are so many, in fact, that it would be difficult to name them all. But the results of these influences, good or bad, are clear: they make you how you are, and they make others how they are.
“How could other people or things influence us for bad?” You might ask. It’s easy to depend on our parents to help us, to guide us away from these things, which is definitely not a bad thing. We cannot forget that our parents are older and therefore a lot wiser than ourselves to judge these things. Yet as we get older, we begin to grow old enough to see bad influences for ourselves, and to be able to distance ourselves from these things as much as we can.
The pull of the world is exceedingly great. It’s far more than any of us may be able to imagine, and so gradual that it can be very hard to see when it is happening to you. It can even be difficult to see in others at first. I personally know someone who was pulled far down by bad influences and swayed greatly by the world. Though I was very young and didn’t know much about it at the time, it deeply has affected that person and many others as well.
It is easy to think that we can resist it, but we usually cannot. Even the Bible warns: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33.) Though we are confident that we could withstand the impact of the world and all its affects and effects on people, that usually is not the case.
When we think of these things, it’s easy to think that we should just cut ourselves off from the world, so that nothing can touch us. However, we cannot, for that means we would not be able to influence others for good. Remember, we are commanded to: “…let your light shine before men…” (Matthew 5:16) and in doing that, we cannot isolate ourselves in our perfect little world, either.
So how can we affect others for good?
Start by praying for them. Point them to the Lord when the opportunity presents itself. Even being positive in general can uplift people, and can also point them to the Lord when they ask why you have such joy and peace in your heart.
In the end, influence is a vitally important thing in everyone’s lives, whether they see it or not. For now, let’s be careful to watch for any negative influence in our lives, and to look out for ways to be a good influence for other people as well. What are some ways you can do that in your everyday life?
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