how much influence?
influence over who?
what kind of influence?
A dog has influence. Stray dogs have influence - the very sight limping stray dogs break people's hearts. Nice puppies bring joy to people around. I once wrote a poem about a cat who lost a paw, it got me thinking about it for quite some weeks, and made me reflect on my life.
From babies and beggars to celebrities and superstars. Angelina Jolie has influence over thousands and thousands in small little ways, yet her few kids that we probably don't know their names - they influence all her life.
Marketing companies use celebrities endorsements to sell a product. Celebrities earn their cash that way. Of course, there are those who use their name for better causes like charity and the sorts; but of course, most of it is used to promote materialism which the public desires so much.
Supply and demand they say, nobody is at fault. Since the whole world is innocent, maybe God is to be blamed. Or is it true that nobody is at fault?
Yes of course, it is him/her/them.
In the last day of the great Judgment before Jesus, nobody is guiltless. Not only will men be guilty for the things they committed as an individual, they are to be responsible for what they have been teaching people around them. The greedy man is not only guilty of restraining his hand to those in need, he is guilty of training his son to be a greedy young man. The man who saw a good deed and did not do it, is not only guilty for the good he did not do, but also the discouragement he gave to the onlookers who bought into his selfishness.
While this description is true for all of us, I am thinking particularly of Christians at this moment.
God has given us forgiveness of sins, reconciliation of relationship, and assurance of salvation. I wonder with such great gifts from God, and a mission given by God to evangelize - I do not wonder that most of us are not stewarding our influence well.
Much effort and much money is put into decorating ourselves, so that we may look good, and that people may praise us. Instead of speaking of the sacrifice, the judgment and the goodness of Jesus which leads to the glory of God, we happily pour our lives for the effort of directing praise to ourselves. We are given the opportunity of one person, the strength of one person at the very least - and God knows how He can demonstrate His Greatness in our weakness; but it is not becoming for citizens of heaven to indulge ourselves in earthly things.
Most of us are being very careless stewards. If any of us remember Jesus' parables.
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep."At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money."After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
I suppose, influence is just one of many gifts that different people can have. I can't help but think of some of my more physically appealing (beautiful looking) female friends, with their God-given beauty, they use it to direct all praise to themselves.
But of course, this whole finger pointing business has taught me many bitter lessons. At the end of the day, I really have to ask myself this, "Is my action consistent with who I declare myself to be?"
Jesus says, "A good tree bears good fruits, and a bad tree bears bad fruits. You know a tree by their fruits"
With all respect and reverence to God, I think that statement sounds childishly obvious. While many of us think of ourselves as "Good people who happen to do bad things", Jesus is saying that mankind is "Bad people doing what they really are". To ignorant and sinful mankind, that statement is hardly obvious. It takes God to tell us common sense.
God has given us life, time, money, influence, and resources of all sorts - I hope I don't squander it away. Careless stewardship might be fun for now, but it won't be funny when we meet God face to face. We will all give an account to God, not only for our personal lives that involves ourselves, but also those whom we have led to Christ, or led astray.
2 of the many things that might rise in our heads:
a) I am not responsible/ I do not need to give an account/ I am good enough/ I am not that bad/ whatever like the words above
b) God save me
Just so we know, a) isn't quite a valid answer. Or maybe, it is again the kind of common sense that isn't quite common.
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