Positive Influences

Proverbs 13:20 NIV
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

Growing up, my mother was increasingly concerned with who I hung around. Some were good influences like Joey, a good Baptist boy not far down the road. My other friend who lived close by she did not care for.

Joey had a good upbringing, great parents, and a good attitude. My other friend was a good kid too; he just had a rough upbringing from several different people and no spiritual guidance or Christian background.

As I got older, the influential people in my life were mainly people from the churches that I served in. I just have to say, just because they were church folk, did not mean they were (all) good influences in my life. I eventually found solid Christian friends that were uplifting. For others, I was the lifter.

My wife recently had to take our granddaughter to her practice once a week for a couple of months. Although the trip was only about thirty to forty minutes long, my wife found positive ways to encourage our granddaughter about life and Christianity. Nothing necessarily deep, just things for our granddaughter to chew on and remember. That may have seemed frivolous or small to some, but we only get a few chances sometimes to impact lives around us. This was my wife’s time.

There are those around us who we can influence, and there are those who can influence us. We just have to find the right ones that are a positive influence in our life, and we have to seize the moment to be a positive influence in someone else’s life. Walk with the wise and become wise or walk with those who have potential and help them to rise higher and to become wise.

Prayer:
Lord, we don’t always get to choose those that we can influence, sometimes we recognize the moment at hand to influence, sometimes it is just people watching us from a distance. However, we can be a positive influence with are wit, wisdom, charm, and good attitude use us for Your service and for Your glory, not our own glory. For those who You will send to be a positive influence in our lives, thank you for caring to make us rise higher. Thank You Lord, amen!