a friend of mine was talking about mother theresa yesterday…how she was significantly influential, but “to influence” was never her pursuit…” she only wanted to love and care for the sick, the unloved, the least, the dying. to allow the actions of jesus to be expressed in her everyday life.
it made me think of this quote from an oswald chamber’s sermon:
“The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”? simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live? yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.”
i pray to be this kind of influencer.
Comments
22 responses to “weekend thought: what is influence?”
Great thoughts. I think being aware of your influence, being intentional about it, has to start with this quality of life Chambers is speaking of.
So influence isn’t about regurgitating the latest book on leadership or emulating others who we have labeled as “successful”? It would be so much easier if it worked that way.
That is a fabulous quote by Chambers! I needed to hear that today. Thank you so much. Live what I believe….live OUT what I believe.
WOW! the second half of that is extremely powerful to me! i pray that statement can be made of my life and that He is able to use every minute…
don’t you think it’s good that we don’t know we are being used…can’t take “credit” that way…
Every day of my life leads me more and more to the concusion that I am merely a small part of the beauty which is Christ.
One star in the sky is not impressive, nor is one lily in a field. What’s impressive is a sky full of stars, and a field full of lilies. It’s these visions that are impressive because they more closely represent God’s greatness.
I am simply here to shine, to bloom, to become part of an image greater than I can ever imagine. The only way to accomplish this is to exert myself to death for the grace of others (Philippians 2:1-11)
We often think of influence in small personal terms: “How can I influence other people? How do they influence me?”
I think the most powerful and profound influence is community (or culture): “How can we influence neighborhoods? Cities? Society? The world?”
You’ve so eloquently put into words something that has been on my heart for quite some time now. Thank you…I really needed this today.
yep
I think you nailed it Anne. That is an awesome quote! Sustained influence is lived out in the context of authentic community.
Thank you for sharing this.
Oswald Chambers…
he was so rich!
What is influence? The more I think about it, the bigger the question gets.
I also think the line between admiration and influence can be tricky. I can greatly admire people like Mother Theresa without changing myself. Her influence was genuine with the poor she served, the nuns she led and the many who pursued emulating her compassion and justice. But if I myself didn’t change (neither in thinking nor action)… I may not be able to honestly say she’s been an influence on me – maybe I instead talk about my admiration, appreciation and gratitude for her.
I also think there’s a pile of room for intentionality in the realm of influence. I wonder if those that seemingly influence by virtue of the lives they lead, without obvious intention, are the exception rather than the rule – and their rarity certainly compounds their influence. But I then I talk to young adults till I’m blue in the face about leveraging the influence they have just by virtue of their demographic – which is an influence they’ve never had before and never will again – with every marketer, politician and even preacher trying to get inside their heads.
And that just barely scratches the surface of the myriad aspects of influence that could be explored and debated. I may not sleep tonight. If I don’t I guess that means I’ve been influenced?
Thank you for this Anne.
We (my husband and I) were talking about this last night too. my husband’s grandma is passing and she has led a very simple life and loves Jesus in the most beautiful and pure way. she has sowed into marilyn hickey ministries through her TV set in her small farming town faithfully for over 20 years. little did she know, her grandson (my husband) would serve on staff in that ministry. she was unaware that she was being used by Him – she was creating a legacy. how true it is…I wish I was more like her…
Anne, you are definitely this kind of influencer. I’m inspired by your passion and authenticity. Thank you for sharing this thought!
Anne – Thanks so much for your prayers on behalf of my sweet Aunt Stacy and her brain surgery. It is such a blessing to know others took the time to lift her up in prayer to the Lord.
If you ever have any prayer needs to share please feel free to post them on the prayer page at my blog. I love to join in prayer over others at the Saviour’s feet.
Your blog is a fantastic force for God’s greater good! Lovin’ it.
Blessings to you and your loved ones –
Melody Milbrandt
Anne: You are not only an influence, you are a major influence. I cannot even begin to tell you how your blogs have motivated me to keep on keepin’ on! And the multitude of comments tell me, your influence (as my grandkids say) rocks! We lift you up in prayer, daily because of the great, tremendous community of influence you definitely have. ….and we say, “thanks!”
I hope to be of a positive and spiritual influence on others simply by living a Godly life. The human factor makes it quite a challenge at times and I struggle with that constantly. Thank You for this passage, it will help arm me for those struggles! May the Lord continue to bless you…
It seems to me that this quote speaks to what true “ministry” is. I think that, when we’ve been in church a long time, we think “ministry” is a thing – a position to be held or attain to. This quote sums it up by going back to the basics of our faith and the basics of the church, which are the two commandments Jesus said were the greatest: loving God and loving people. I think we would all do well to stick to those, and trust God to use us!
I have no great wise comments here – I am grateful you posted about this topic and the Oswald Chambers quote. My life is no great whoop in the grand scheme of things, I’ve messed up more than the average “Christian” admits to and I continue to struggle every day to die to self. BUT – it’s OK – maybe God can arrange things so somebody who needs to see a person living on faith sees me when I’m not being a butthead. So to speak.
Me too. Me too.
That was awesome! It’s rocking my world
Great quote! Funny, because I just wrote a post about “Moving to a Place of Influence in Culture” on my blog today. Erwin McManus gave a talk on that at LeadNow.
The real question is how are we intentionally orienting our life to be an influence to the ones who need it most?
Brad Ruggles
http://www.bradruggles.com
thanks for sharing this! great quote. very inspiring.