What Influence Are You Having?

God Wants to Use You to Reach a World in Need

I believe one of the greatest opportunities we have as Christians is to make a profound difference in the lives of others. Every single one of us has the ability to impact someone else’s life for good or bad.

Just think about it: Whether you’re at work, the grocery store, driving in traffic, or at home with the kids, someone is almost always watching. They notice what you say and do, and they are influenced by your lifestyle.

What is influence? Influence is the power of producing an effect on someone without any apparent effort on our part. Whether we are trying to influence someone or not, we are having an impact on them just by being around them. And the kind of influence we have as believers is very important because we represent God. 

You Are God’s Representative

I think it’s easy to forget that we have a lot of influence on others just by the way we live our lives. Look what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20: We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us...(NIV).

Wow! God is making His appeal—or attracting and drawing people—through us.

So, let me ask you: Are you having an “appealing” influence in your neighborhood, at your church or even at the shopping mall? Does your behavior make knowing God look appealing to your children and unsaved family members?

Sadly, I can remember a time years ago when I was not having a very good influence on people. I was a Christian and had been going to church for years. I was even on the evangelism committee! However, I wasn’t very spiritually mature—I had a bad temper and was selfish, manipulative and controlling. I was actually a bad influence because many people knew I was a Christian, but I wasn’t acting like one.

You see, as believers, we should be concerned about whether we’re having a godly, positive effect on people. The truth is, so many people may never set foot inside of a church or read their Bible, but they do see us. And what they think about God has a lot to do with what they think about us.

Our oldest son, David, is a great example of this. As CEO of Hand of Hope, Joyce Meyer Ministries World Missions, he travels much of the year and represents the ministry everywhere he goes.

What people in those places think about our ministry has a lot to do with what they think about David. They don’t see me—they see him. In a similar way, since people can’t watch God to see how He behaves, they are watching us to see how we behave.

“Show and Tell”

Galatians 6:10 (AMPC) says, So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God’s family with you, the believers].

I don’t believe God wants us to just be spectators in life. He wants us to be people who really love others and care enough to help make their lives better. And as we reach out to people and choose to be a blessing, they begin to see what God is like, and it causes them to grow in their relationship with Him.

I believe one of the best ways we can demonstrate God’s goodness is by being a giver. I don’t just mean giving at church; I’m talking about a lifestyle of giving.

I think we need to get up every day and ask God for ideas on how we can give of our time, attention, talents and resources. People will learn a lot from us about the nature of God by watching our loving, giving lifestyle. Our actions are a sermon!

Sharing the Gospel is a lot like playing “show and tell.” When we are good to people and allow the love of Jesus to flow through our lives—through our words, actions, and attitudes—they become interested in what makes us different. They see our peace, joy, and good works, and they want to know how they can have that, too. It opens the door wide for us to tell them about God.

Let me give you an example. Many years ago, I got my hair done by a woman who wasn’t a Christian and didn’t have any relationship with God at all. Naturally, I wanted to be a good witness. However, I didn’t preach to her about the way she was living, I just prayed for opportunities to share the love of God with her.

For two years she did my hair, and I took an interest in her life. I gave her the gift of listening and caring. I tipped her well, gave her a coat I knew she liked, and occasionally gave her gift certificates to a nice restaurant. Eventually, I invited her to attend one of my conferences. By that time she knew and trusted me enough that she came.

Well, after the conference, she began to want to talk about God. Over time, she accepted Christ and even came to work for Joyce Meyer Ministries. My life influenced her, then her life influenced her son, her friends and her family. And that’s really the way the Gospel is preached—by the power of influence!

In Acts 10:38 the Bible tells us that Jesus went around doing good. Like Jesus, you and I are called to do the same thing. We are God’s representatives, sent to show them what He is like.

Each day, I encourage you to ask yourself, “Are people hungry for a relationship with God because of what they see in my life?” Because you have influence, and you may be the greatest message they ever see.