Readings for today: Acts 27-28, Psalms 132
Lately, I’ve been thinking about influence. All of us have it on some level. It could be with family, friends, at work or school, perhaps in our church or in society as a whole. Influence is what you gain over time as you invest in those around you and work hard to earn their trust and achieve some measure of success alongside them in life. Trust breeds confidence and confidence breeds influence as the people around you learn to look to you for wisdom or advice. Influence does not come from any position or title. It must be won through sacrifice and service to others. Influence takes a long time to cultivate but can be lost in a moment if one uses it to their own advantage. As a Christian, I treat influence as a sacred privilege, something to protect and never use for my own personal gain. It is humbling to think of the people who trust me and who allow me to have influence in their lives. My wife and children. My mom and in-laws. My church family. Not only do I have influence in their lives but they have a huge influence in mine as well. In this way, influence is reciprocal and reproduces itself in all sorts of ways.
The Apostle Paul is a man of influence. Not just with the churches he planted or the church planting teams he led but even with the pagan Roman authorities who imprisoned him and escorted him to Rome for his trial. Listen again to part of the story we read for today, “Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. But we have to run aground on some island.”…Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.” (Acts 27:21-26, 31-32 CSB) The Apostle Paul clearly had a reputation. He was a man who heard from God. A man who served God. A man who was known for his faithfulness to God. So when the captain went against the advice of Paul and ran his ship and crew into trouble, they all turned back to Paul for advice. What should we do? Where should we go? What’s going to happen to us? Thankfully, Paul stewarded his influence well. He didn’t pout when the captain disagreed with him. He didn’t stop seeking the Lord on behalf of those he sailed with. He didn’t isolate or withdraw or tell them to go jump in the sea. Instead, he comforted them by sharing his vision from the Lord of their salvation. And they trusted Paul so much, they were even willing to cut the ropes to their lifeboats! How crazy is that?!
What kind of influence do you have over the people in your life? Do you steward that influence well? Do you seek the Lord on their behalf? Do you seek their welfare above your own? Do you seek to serve them rather than be served by them? Do you act out of their best interest or your own self-interest? Do you use underhanded techniques like manipulation or coercion to get your way? Bend them to your will? Make them do what you want them to do? Or do you set them free to choose their own way and make their own decision and honor them by continuing to walk alongside them no matter what? Even if they disagree or don’t take your advice? At the end of the day, the Apostle Paul was granted influence because of his faithfulness. Faithfulness to God’s will and faithfulness to those around him. How can you exercise the same faithfulness in your life today?
Readings for tomorrow: Romans 1-2, Psalms 133