A recent thought I heard goes as follows:
Your shadow falls upon others. Often that shadow falls in places beyond your control or awareness. While is it true that you can’t control where the shadow falls, you can control the one who casts the shadow. You can control yourself.
Each of us has influence. We control whether we influence others for good, or for evil. The Bible is full of scriptures that teach the importance of being a good example.
The Lord Himself spoke on the subject in His sermon in Matthew 5. In verses 13-16 he said:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In both pictures, the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” Jesus both indicates that His disciples have influence, and that such influence must be wielded for good. If a Christian’s influence loses its goodness (salt that has lost its flavor) it is useless. If a Christian hides his influence (puts it under a basket) he robs God of glory. Regardless, both are destructive to the Lord’s cause. As He said in Matthew 12:30, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”
It is important to wield your influence for good, both to believers and unbelievers. Paul told the young evangelist Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). There is nothing more destructive to the faith of Christians than a hypocrite. One who professes to be a child of God, then shows himself to be ungodly in conduct, is a discouragement to his brethren. His actions weaken the resolve of others, and casts doubts in the minds of the weak. Paul rightly asked, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:6-7). May we never be a leavening influence among God’s people.
Peter weighed in on the importance of influence towards those outside of the church. He wrote, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). He here indicates that our good influence brings glory to God. This is likewise indicated by the Lord, as we noted in Matthew 5:16. Not only is God glorified by our good works, but our conduct by itself may be sufficient to save souls. Peter in the very next chapter counseled Christian women, “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear” (1 Peter 3:1-2).
As Christians, it is important that we realize the simple truth that we do not live in a vacuum. Our lives have an impact upon others. As Paul put it in Romans 14:7-8, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” As a part of our responsibility to God, we must live in such a way as to cause no offense to another.
The best way to serve as a good influence to others is to emulate the Lord. Paul did, and wrote, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Christ is the ultimate example of a good influence. If we live as He did, we will do well. Consider in conclusion these wonderful words from Paul’s pen: “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Philippians 2:14-16).
