You Have Influence

From my “Bible in One Year 2020” YouVersion Devotional:

As the African proverb puts it, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.’ The mosquito makes a difference in an annoying way, but the principle is the same. One person can stop a great injustice. One person can be a voice for truth. One person’s kindness can save a life. Each person matters.

The fact is we all influence others. Even when we feel invisible. Inconsequential. People are watching and listening. My influence never became more apparent until I became a mother.

I felt the heavyweight of responsibility. The sense of little eyes watching and little ears listening. Copying and mimicking. I prayed for God’s strength to be the best me I could be - for them.

But what about all those people I never thought to change for. Wasn’t I called to love. Yes. The Bible makes it very clear we are to love others. Even bless our enemies. Or even those that annoy us but for some reason they are in our lives.

In the past, I have seen others make mistakes. Specifically, I knew someone spending like crazy with no tomorrow in mind. Blissfully and mindlessly filling their house with boxes. At the time, I relished in the otherness of the situation. It was not my problem. They would have to deal with the consequences on their own. But consequences have a way of biting not only the perpetrators but also all those that care for them. And now, I can very much say that the consequences affected me and my whole family as well.

Is the conclusion that we should care and try to help others out of their mistakes because they will hurt us? No, now I realize the selfishness in that thought process. I should have cared whether it affected me or not. Given my advice. Even if it was unwelcome. Prayed for them at the least. I should have realized turning a bling eye for the sake of peace was not love. It was cowardly and selfish.