For my devotional today I was thinking about the power of influence that people have upon one another –including for good, indifference, or evil.
A well know Proverbs on this issue is 27:17, which says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” The overall point being – in context of walking with God, we’re to be people who seek to influence (and to be influenced) positively towards strength in the Lord.
In the book of Jeremiah, God emphasized His desire that we be people whose lives and words influence for His righteousness:
Speak good words rather than worthless ones; by this you will be my spokesperson. You must influence others for good, do not let them influence you for evil” (Jeremiah 15:19).
We’re to be intentional about the people we build relational alliances with, especially when it comes to our life/walk with God. Even as born-again Christians, we’re going to experience times of weakness, including times where the pull of the flesh is strong that we’ll want to give in. The people who are in our life can either be a weakening or a strengthening force when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.
In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul presents two types of people when it comes to influencing us in our walk with God:
COMPROMISED: Those who are compromised, trying to justify to you & themselves by excusing giving into sinful living. In response, the Apostle Paul unambiguously warns: “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things [sin, walking after the flesh] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Paul says: “Do not be partakers with them” (Eph. 5:6-7).
UNCOMPROMISED: Those who are uncompromising in their walk with the Lord; living consistently Spirit-filled they will seek to turn us away for the influence of the world and instead build us up in Jesus, they are those “…filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). People of this sort are of the type that are going to build us up, in understanding the Lord’s will for our lives, so that we’re enabled to walk wisely in a manner that honors God.
Who we seek counsel from in our times of weakness and the people we’ve surrounded ourselves are strategically important to our standing strong in the Lord.
If we’re serious about our walk with God, we need to be equally serious about the people we allow into positions of influence within our lives.