THE POWER OF INFLUENCE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.

No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.

Psalm 101:3b-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, I’m moving back into the Psalms after a few days of writing from other places in the Bible. I pray you had a blessed Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.

As we begin 2013, we have an opportunity to sit back and reflect on where we are and what we’re doing as we move into a new year full of new months and days. Maybe one thing we should consider as we reflect is who and what we’re associating ourselves with as the power of influence can never be underestimated when it comes to its effect. Let me explain.

When my daughters were growing up, I would discuss the power of influence with them around the following statement:

“You are what you eat.”

The statement, originally intended for nutritional purposes as a means to get people to think about what they consume, can be used for spiritual instruction as well.

Let’s say you hang around with people who openly practice behaviors that run counter to what the Lord commands in the Scriptures. Don’t think for a minute that you won’t also begin to adopt their behaviors in the way you act.

Perhaps old vices you once gave up now come back to the surface as others in your presence are doing them. This has happened many times to people who have tried to quit smoking, drinking, or taking drugs. Maybe you can relate.

Or maybe you are in a circle of people who love to gossip about others. You know it’s wrong but a little won’t hurt will it? Soon, you’re in the middle of it, gossiping like everyone else, and in the end, no better than they are. You could have walked away or used the opportunity to share what the Bible says about gossiping but you didn’t. Being “in” the clique was more important than doing the right thing.

Maybe you watch movies with illicit sex or violence or profanity. Or listen to music with lyrics that espouse the same. Or play video games that glorify shooting and killing others. Or surf the internet looking for sexual material (and it doesn’t have to always be pornographic). As you do any of these things, you open the windows of your eyes and ears to receive sinful behaviors and convince yourself it’s OK because it’s not real, only fantasy. Please don’t fool yourself because everything you allow into your sight and hearing influences your mind and your heart and if you’re allowing sin in, then know it can and will take root.

As I consider this matter of influence, it’s nice to see that David was also doing so in the concluding verses of the 101st Psalm. Look at what he had to say on the matter and how he would deal with it:

I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.

No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.

As we look at David’s heart as expressed through his written words, we see that there was no desire to be in party with those who chose to live in sin and evil. David had a hatred for the things that faithful people did and vowed to participate. He chose to not engage in slanderous gossip against others but rather to stay silent and apart from such talk. As for those who lived in arrogance, David wished to have nothing to do with them, opting instead for humility as God expected. If you were a person of deceit then you had no place with David, even though we know David himself would fail in this very area through sinful adultery and conspiring murderous behavior.

No, David did not choose to connect himself with people who were openly sinful, understanding that doing so would compromise the very commitment toward righteousness he had made with God the Father. He understood the sometimes dangerous nature of the power of influence.

Now, does this mean that we are supposed to ex-communicate all those who are choosing to live in sin, craving the world’s desires over the Lord’s?

The answer to this question is certainly “no”.

For as Christians, we are to be like Christ and when you look at the life of Jesus, He didn’t shun engaging sinners. No, He went into their company, not to adopt their ways but to show them a different way through Him. Jesus Christ, our Savior, chose to affiliate with the people that society detested not to become more like them but to help them become more like Him.

And He wants us to do the same.

Friends, we need to learn one important thing from the scriptures today:

The power of influence and how it is applies cuts in two directions.

First, people living in unrepentant sinfulness can and will influence you toward behaving the same if you allow their influence to dominate you.

Secondly, as much as people can be a negative influence on you, conversely, you can be a positive influence on them by sharing the scriptures and what God expects from us in the way of righteous living. In other words, your power of influence, an influence powered by the Holy Spirit, will reign supreme over any worldly influence and certainly any attempts by Satan to trump the power of the Lord. Jesus was able to be in party of sinners without being influenced Himself because His powers of righteousness and holiness transcended the forces of evil at works in the hearts of the sinners He associated with.

The good news is that He, Jesus, is ready to help us have the same experiences today as we go forth in His name to make disciples of all nations as He commanded. My prayer is that in the new year, His power of influence will reign supreme in your heart and mind and soul as you get to work for the cause of Christ in 2013.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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