Influence

I’ve heard that I cannot change another person. People are who people are (profound huh?) and they will only change when they have an inclination do so. I can’t change a person but I can live a life of influence that in some way may cause a person to desire change.

I think about the concept of influence as it applies to my kids. I can exercise authority over them and they will submit. But when the authority is gone, so is the behavior it forced. From experience it is way more effective to influence my kids rather than force them to act a certain way and hope it forms a habit.

I can try to change Andrea but that is a waste of time. She can try to change me but that is an even larger amount of time wasted. There is this relational dance that must happen in marriage so that we can compliment one another rather than try to force change.

I think about influence and the role it plays in telling the gospel (the good news). For far to long the church has believed that it can force people into heaven with scare tactics or moral bullying; but the role of influence is even more important when pointing people toward God. Pointing people towards God requires conversation and influence. People move closer to God as they watch others live what they believe. They take the first step toward God and then He effects the change.

I think about the effect of influence on me. I am who I am because of experience and emotion and information. But I also am who I am because of the influence of people. I am influenced by my parents. I am influenced by my wife and my kids. I am influenced by those older than me who are farther along the path of life than I am. I am influenced by those who are my age and are traveling at the same pace. I am influenced by those younger than me who are coming up the path a little farther behind. I am influenced by people who are brilliant and complex and I am influenced by those who are simple. I am influence by those who lived long before me and those who live today because of what they have written down and published in book form or because of their art. I am influenced by people who live on the other side of the country as I listen to them teach and preach and report and sing on the internet and radio. I am influenced by bloggers who my only contact is through a computer screen. I have the finger prints of others all over me.

How about you? Show me your influence.

BTW – I’m listening to an iTune radio live stream and they are giving me the current weather for the Cayman Islands. Like that makes me feel good about sitting in my office.