Influencers Influence
“She’s an ‘influencer’ and makes lots money. Her husband quit his job and now helps her full time,” said a connection I have to an “influencer.” This person I know—knew that person and so it goes. And what does one do when wanting to know more about the information I was given?
One can look them up on-line and click the button that reads FOLLOW. It’s legal creeping, if you will, to see what it was my friend was talking about. Why did I look her up? I looked her up because I had never heard that title before and wanted to know what this was all about.
For those of you who are not familiar with what an “influencer” is, they are people who promote products and get a kick-back monetarily from companies. In other words, places of business send them products in hopes the “influencer” chooses to tell the rest of us all about it. Mind you, not just any person can do that and make money. No—you must have lots and lots of people watching what it is you do on line—follow you—and then in turn off they go to buy the stuff you tell them about.
This is what I saw after I clicked the “follow” button online. Her perfectly decorated home was the backdrop as a brand new box arrived. Right in front of everybody, she began pulling all sorts of yummy stuff out of it. And what did it do for me as I sat and watched it? It did exactly what it was supposed to do. It made me want to buy it. It influenced.
I was thinking about those who have influenced my life— the ones who have left deep trenches in the trenches of life. Here are just a few.
First up were the Franciscans. Grades one through eight the nuns from this order who patterned their lives after the Gospels, applying it in a way St. Francis of Assisi influenced. The convent in which they live was just one block from where I grew up. The sisters not only taught me, but saw me and invited many into their world as they served.
Next up were the Benedictines. Benedictines pattern their lives after the Gospels. Benedict set down roots in a cave to get away from the secular culture at the time—and pray. For several years he prayed and spent time with God and His Word. I attended a Benedictine college and learned words like stability and hospitality and the importance of living each by “Listening with the ear of your heart.” The permission given to seek Christ as He seeks us throughout life is an influence for which I will forever be grateful.
Then there were the School Sisters of Notre Dame who literally became my comrades while in Peace Corp. They lived two blocks from my little wooden house near the border of Brazil. Sister Maria established a mission for education and nutrition among the poor at the age of 65. A whippersnapper she was in organizing women in the countryside—teaching nutritional recipes in order to save the lives of their babies.
Then there were the Bridgittines (Sisters of St. Bridget from Sweden) who happened to be from India at this particular location. I had never heard of them before until my husband and I were given shelter in their convent while in Italy this past year. They prayed— hours each day—making and serving meals for the groups passing through—offering a safe environment from which to launch. They not only fed and nourished physically, but spiritually gave input to all who stayed under their roof.
And we all know Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity she founded. The global impact of those who have walked as she did among the poorest of the poor convicts us all.
Ann Voskamp influences with her ability to empathize the inner workings of humankind on a spiritual level. Billy Graham influenced millions. C.S. Lewis continues to touch lives as his writings reverberate and influence Pastors, teachers, speakers, and those neighbor to neighbor in the name of Jesus Christ. And we could name many more because that’s how He works because that’s how He influences—through His Word—transforming lives.
And the young influencer I mentioned in the beginning? She, too, is a sister in Christ and influences spiritually with her encouragement for others to grow—in Him.
In one form or another we are all “influencers.” May we holdfast as Christ holds-fast to us— for He is the biggest “influencer” of all. As we become more aware of those we walk beside, may we be ever faithful. Psalm 19:14 reminds us how best to influence on a powerfully personal level. “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable to you, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
Be an influencer as you extend Him to the world. Amen.
