Influence Under Wraps

…many ..would not confess Him…for they loved human praise more than praise from God."  John 12: 42-43 

Elias rearranged scrolls and tried to keep his expression neutral while his fellow priests ranted. That new Rabbi was getting under everyone’s skin and the leaders were becoming agitated. There was even talk about stoning Him. Curiosity had first driven Elias to the countryside to listen to this Man some called the Messiah, but it was conviction that propelled him back again and again. He had seen a sack lunch become a feast. He had watched Jairus’ dead daughter brought to life and heard the mute man speak. Only God could do such things, but saying that would cause problems. So He kept silent. No one could know he believed this Man’s words and that his heart burned for more. The price for confessing his faith was too high.

How often have you kept your influence under wraps because the price was too high? People might look at you funny. Friends might walk away. You’d get a reputation for being a religious wacko, so you stay silent. Maybe you’ve even joined in when people mocked faith, trashed the Bible, or relegated Jesus to the role of a social reformer. You believe in Him, but the price for letting people know is just too high. Their opinions matter more to you than His approval. So you tell yourself that faith is a private matter. No one’s business. 

Jesus doesn’t agree. He said if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before His Father (Luke 12:8). Confessing does not mean words alone, but a lifestyle of discipleship. Influence under wraps is worthless.

.

What's Your Aim?

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned…I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.” 

1 Samuel 15:34

Joanna clattered down the stairs and stopped at her mother’s shocked expression. “What?” she said a bit too loudly, slapping at a long strand of dyed-black hair. A long moment passed before her mother spoke. “I’m concerned about you,” she said. “You’re changing. You’ve stopped going to church…your head is half shaved…lots of new piercings…and, is that a skull tattoo?” Joanna rolled her black-rimmed eyes. “Mo-om, I’ve told you about my new friends. I’m trying to influence them and this is how we…I mean, they, do things.” Her mother slipped an arm around Joanna’s shoulders. “Honey, if you’re changing who you are for someone else, then it is not you who is influencing them. They are influencing you.”

Like Joanna, we fool ourselves. We all have an inborn desire for the approval of other people. That isn’t wrong until we start believing that our worth is based upon what others think of us. Then we are no longer serving Christ. Popularity should never be the goal in our desire to influence because popularity strives for the approval of other people; influence strives for the approval of God. Galatians 1:10 says, “Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We cannot serve both God and popularity because those paths will part at some point. When our commitment is to Christ and His word, the world’s changing whims won’t unseat us.

Are you seeking to be a good influence or seeking to be popular? 

You have to choose one or the other.

.

Determination

 

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, 

he set his face to go to Jerusalem.  

Luke 9:51

Emmy Award Winner Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound. Former Miss Universe Enters Rehab for the Fifth Time.  Headlines like these are so common they barely capture our interest. Many of them have a common theme: a person who experienced extreme popularity couldn’t handle it. Fame can make people do crazy things because they let it define them. Their self-worth becomes dependent upon the opinions of others, and when those opinions change, they are devastated. Whereas they once believed they were superior, they come to believe they are inferior—based solely upon their current level of popularity. We may never be in the headlines, but we have a tendency to do that too.

Jesus knows all about it. He catapulted to stardom, and then His adoring fans abruptly turned on Him. But one striking feature defined His walk through this world: “He set His face toward…” Jesus never let the opinions of others alter His course. They could love Him or hate Him; neither fazed Him. He loved people, but did not let their opinions define Him. One day they tried to make Him king; another day they tried to shove Him over a cliff. Jesus knew that popular opinion was not a reliable guide, so He never based His actions upon His current popularity—or lack of it. He set His face toward the cross, toward the plan of God, toward His purpose, and refused to look back. If we follow His example, we don’t let the opinions of culture, our peers, or even family, alter our course. We set our face toward God’s plan, knowing that we are always and only who He says we are.

When we set our faces toward obedience to God, no one can alter His plan for our lives.