Everyone has influence
One of the more intriguing accounts contained in the Older Testament of the Bible is the account of soldiers being excused from active duty.
There is nothing quite like it in modern practice. First, it says, if a young soldier has planted a vineyard but never had an opportunity to enjoy the wine it produced, he was excused. Be a shame for him to do all that work and then miss out on the reward. Second, if he built a new house but hadn’t yet lived in it, he was excused, same reasoning. Third, if he was engaged but not yet married, he could go home to his soon to be “wife.”
Talk about sensitivity to the circumstances of a nation’s soldiers. But, then comes the fourth reason for exclusion from service, and no, it wasn’t for bone spurs. The fourth exclusion was for anyone who was afraid. Yes, you read correctly. If a soldier was scared to go into battle, he was asked to go home. The reason? Fear is contagious and they didn’t want him spreading his fear-filled influence among the troops.
Moral of the story? Everyone has influence, for good or for not so good. Go for coffee with a group of friends and start sharing how grateful you are for blessings you’ve received, and before you know it, the whole group will be focusing on good news and gratitude. Take the same group but start whining and complaining about traffic, taxes, health care or corrupt politicians and within minutes you can sway the whole conversation.
Most often when we speak about influence we badly miss the point. We think it is an attribute reserved for the elite, the privileged and the upper echelon. It is in fact rare for average people to acknowledge that they have any influence at all and embrace the accompanying responsibility to use it wisely.
A significant breakthrough in basic health care has been to convince the average person to cough or sneeze into their sleeve and to wash their hands as frequently as possible. The essence of the challenge has been to convince us all that we are contagious.That recognition has helped make huge strides in curtailing common colds and flu’s. If we could somehow accomplish the same strides with respect to attitude we’d really be onto something.
It is common to recognize the influence possessed by community leaders. We are quick to point out that our mayors, MLAs and MPs have influence. It’s almost as common to point to the upper class, suggesting that because of their wealth they possess disproportionate influence. It may in fact be true. But, no one has more influence in the life of a child than his or her parent. Experts suggest that no one has more influence in the life of a teenager than his or her peers. Very few people have more influence on you than your friends. If we are involved in any significant relationship at all, we possess significantly more influence than we ever imagine.
You are contagious. Your fear, your confidence, your gratitude, your cynicism, your kindness or selfishness, it all spreads to those around you. So let’s all commit to spreading some positive germs. Who knows, maybe our whole community can catch a great movement started by you.