Be A Positive Influence

Influencing the Influencers. Booker T Washington wrote, "Associate yourself with people of good quality, it is better to be alone than in bad company." It is said you will be the same person you are today but for the books you read and the people you associate with. How much of your life is a result of your association's? Leadership and decision making are influenced by those who influence. Who are you letting influence you? What are their values and core beliefs? Often, because of the unconscious effect called influence, we don't even understand or even recognize who is influencing us. This is why it becomes so important to evaluate our associations and make sure those relationships are moving you ahead with positive consequences, not negative. Peer pressure will either influence you to agree and act in a similar manner, or it will differentiate your actions from the source of the peer. The question each of us should be asking... is this the best decision and choice? Is drinking and partying getting me closer to my dream, or is it leading to alcoholism and a waste of valuable resources? Are my influences supporting or are they tearing down? Are you becoming who you were meant to be or are you swerving off the path to your future success? A rocket launch takes place and as it enters orbit, it slips just a few degrees off course, causing that rocket to miss the mark by thousands of miles. Life is the same way. I can't tell you how many fabulous, talented and gifted people lay in the trenches of deep distress and loss along the highway to real success. Some of these people were once healthy and some were once wealthy. Some were socialites who are now living as hermits. All because they chose to be influenced by the wrong person. History is replete with the once rich and famous who are remembered and tainted forever by the actions that precipitated from those who influenced them. The supermarket tabloids have one lead story after another of the pain of wrong influences. I once heard a young mother say, "I tell my children all the time, you are one decision or choice away from messing up and even ruining your life." One drink too many and driving under influence and wham! One burst of anger and wham! One lust filled heart for another person and wham! One thing picked up that does not belong to you and wham! Satan loves the "whams" in life because he is always seeking to destroy. Sometimes he brings down a person because of their proximity to the associate who actually did the deed. I have seen the whams and I have watched the death and destruction in family and friends. I realize how easy it is to ignore and dismiss such warnings. But for a moment, look back on some of your decisions and choices. Ask yourself, how many of these warnings were a reflection of the associations you had around you. There is a flip side to influence. There is good and healthy influences which I would rather focus on. Do these influences teach something? Thinking back in your life, did these influences make you a better person? Did they inspire you? Did these influences help you to grow and improve your self worth? The only influence any of us should be totally under is the influence of Gods Word. That is why God makes it plain in His Word, Matthew 6:33 "Seek he first the kingdom of God.and all other things will be added unto you.." Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom." Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will direct your path." I Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived, God is not easily mocked" (deceived) Proverbs 13:20 "Whoever walks with the wise, becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Proverbs 22:25. "Lest you learn their ways and get entangle in the snare." Jeremiah 17:9. "Their heart is deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked (sick) Proverbs 10:17 The quality of character grows in proportion to the time we are willing to invest in Gods Word and His presence.

Make it a priority to focus your life on God's Word. Always remember, you can be easily influenced, but you have the opportunity to influence just as easily! Keep your influence focused on the good and on the positive. Be an encourager.

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