How Are You Spending Your Influence?
Photo by Korney Violin on Unsplash
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Here is a statement you are free to disagree with: "Not everyone can be a leader."
Many people would say that anyone can be taught to lead. I don't believe this is true. I believe leadership is a gift, a predisposition, if you will. People who have it can hone their skills to be more effective leaders. Some people who don't can learn to lead (and some have done so to great success). But most people without a leadership gift don't make effective leaders.
Again, there's plenty of room for disagreement. But here's one thing I think we'd all agree on: you don't have to be a leader to be influential.
Not everyone is a leader. But almost everyone has influence.
You may be a leader in your company, church, or other organization. This is all well and good. Hopefully, you embrace this role and do your best to grow as a leader. But not everyone has a leadership position. Not everyone is tasked with or expected to lead. And let's face it: even some people with a leadership role aren't always comfortable with it.
Not everyone is a leader. But virtually everyone reading this has influence.
Influence is our potential to affect others as a result of our lives intersecting with theirs. When you consider how often these intersections happen each day, you begin to understand the scope of your influence.
The truth is that very few among us have zero influence on others. Almost all of us have people with whom we engage regularly. For some of us, this is a large number of people. For others, this number is relatively small. But every single person with whom we come in contact, especially those with whom we have relationships, represents opportunities for influence.
And let's be clear: our influence isn't spiritually neutral. It has only two outcomes: we either point people toward God or away from Him.
We have the potential, some of us on a grand scale, to be unbelievably influential in the lives of those around us, not for our glory but for the glory of God. To be people of great influence, we must be intentional about how we use it. We must steward our influence the same way we steward our other resources.
Being a steward of our influence starts with being aware of the opportunities we have each day. When you encounter people at the gas station, in the elevator, or the drive-through line, are you aware of how you're spending your influence at that moment? When you're with the people you see most often, your co-workers or your family, do you recognize those opportunities as moments of influence where you could leverage these interactions to draw people closer to God? To get better at spending our influence wisely, we must recognize the opportunities God puts in front of us.
Once we become more aware of our opportunities, we must take advantage of them. We do so by living in such a way that our actions, attitudes, and words reflect God and His ways. Our influence on others becomes God influencing them through us. Are you kind to others? Are you patient? Do you respond to harsh people with grace? Do you take time to encourage? Do you listen? Do you respond to others with wisdom? Do you sacrifice your wants to meet other people's needs first? Each of these postures is an example of leveraging your influence for God's glory.
God's Kingdom is advanced in this world through God's people faithfully stewarding their influence.
Not everyone is a leader, but almost everyone has influence. Are you using your influence to advance your kingdom or God's Kingdom? The latter has a lasting impact, while the former will only lead to emptiness.
This article originally appeared in Volume 25 of my free newsletter, Good For You.
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