Whewww! Now that the West has won, the MVP has been honored, star-gazing has come to a halt, party goers are recovering (or still snoozing), the movers and shakers, ballers and shot-callers have long flew off in their private Gulfstream jets and the Galleria Mall is deciding if it’s safe to re-open their doors, the city of Houston is returning back to normalcy! Although us local Houstonian’s are appreciative that our city hosted this years NBA All Star and all the amazing events, we can certainly exhale as we drive downtown in “normal” traffic and are able to get to our destinations without the fear of standstill--going no where- any time soon--traffic.
One word that sums up the weekend of NBA All Star? Influence.
Yes, I know stars, celebrities, events, parties, gatherings, camaraderie, hustle and bustle are words that you thought of, and all of that is true. But yet, it all comes down to on all different levels, people using their influence to draw in others for a cause.
As I was pumping gas at an area that was very congested from all the All Star traffic, the gentleman next to me said, “Don’t I wish I had what they have. If I had just a little bit of the influence these guys in town have, I would…..”
I looked at him and smiled, continued pumping gas and soaked in his comment. By the time I had paid for the gas and was ready to pull off, his words had a chance to really resonate with me and it was as if my internal light bulb went off with the solution that popped in mind for his apparent concern. However, my fellow commuter had already disappeared into the vast sea of bumper to bumper vehicles before I could share my thoughts with him. When I thought about it, the answer to his wish was very clear! He actually DOES have the influence of “these guys in town!” And not just a little bit of it, but just as much of it! Contrary to popular belief, not only does HE have it, but I have it and YOU, Mr. and Ms. Reader, you have it too!
Unfortunately, people consider having position and influence as one in the same. What the gentleman at the gas station probably didn’t have was the position that he was coveting from the who’s who crowd in the city. However, he already has the influence, just not properly applying it.
In one of the latest books I read, “Visioneering” by Andy Stanley, he beautifully explains having a position and having influence are not necessarily the same. There is a difference. You can have a position, but not have influence. In the same token, you can have influence and not necessarily have a position.
Stanley sums it well by stating “Your influence is far more critical….than your position.” People will follow you because of your influence.
Not everyone will have the same sphere of influence. Everyone has a different assignment and a different capacity in which they are called to fulfill it. Not everyone will have an influence over the masses. Not everyone will have a public platform or global reach. Not everyone will have a household name or the appeal to win over the community. However, some of us, well actually most of us, will have a much smaller sphere of influence. Perhaps your assignment is to be the influencer at the office where you are the only cubicle that isn’t involved in drama or scandal. Maybe the influence you carry as a sports coach is to be used to make an impact in the lives of the youth that you meet with on a weekly basis. Maybe you are placed within your group of friends to be that beacon of light for those in a lonely, confused and dark world. And because it all starts with home, perhaps in this season of life, your assignment begins with influencing and impacting the lives of your children, spouse or others within your household. A statistic I heard not long ago stated that the average person will impact 10,0000 lives within their lifetime.
The bottom line is this: Our Heavenly Father gives us ALL influence. God has an assignment for all of us to complete with the influence he gives us. We all have our own separate sphere of influence that is our own territory to work. We don’t have to have a high position in life to have influence. There are many people that have high positions that don’t have an influence, or either choose not to use it for God’s glory.
The Bible reminds us that we are salt and light and that we are to “…let our 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
We can’t get caught up in the mentality of thinking “what I would do if only I had _______.” Or if I had “so and so’s” lifestyle, I could then do ________. God didn’t give us “so and so’s” lifestyle for a reason. However, He did give us our own individual lives and He watches closely how we choose to be a steward of what He has given us. And if what Andy Stanley said is true, that people will follow us because of our influence, then we must be diligent with asking ourselves, “Who is following Me?” and better yet, “Why?”
In leadership expert Pat Williams latest book, “The Difference You Make,” he says, “we all have influence, we all have an impact on the people around us and we have all been shaped and impacted by the influencers in our own lives.”
So with that in mind, do we sit in regret like the gentleman at the gas station, wishing he had the influence of others? Or do we recognize and appreciate gifts, talents and assignments that God has given us, and boldy go forth to influence and impact a very thirsty world that yearns for the Living Water that you have to give?
Who are you influencing? Who is influencing you?
Blessings & Happy Influencing,
~ CleRenda
