He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1).
Growing up, your parents probably reminded you quite often, “Don’t let your friends’ bad habits rub off on you.” Maybe you’ve found yourself saying something similar to your own kids. That’s great advice, isn’t it? The truth is that we never outgrow this admonition no matter how old we get. The struggle to not pick up the bad habits of others is real. So, also, is the battle to be a person through whom others will learn good habits. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals,” indeed, a golden nugget to hold as treasure. The opposite is equally true: good company encourages good morals. Friends, we are always, by our words, behaviors, and deeds, either pointing others toward Jesus or away from Jesus, toward truth or away from truth. We are constantly influencing others for good or for bad. Our goal, then, should be to strive for godly influence and work diligently to keep it.
We start with a holy resolve. Webster says that the word means to come to a definite and earnest decision to follow some course of action. Jim Rohn, trying to help his audience understand the meaning of resolve, offered an illustration: “The man says, ‘I will climb this mountain. They told me it’s too high, too far, too steep, too rocky, and too difficult. But it’s my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying’” (https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/resolve.html).
A person of holy resolve is one who has made up his or her mind. With Christ’s help, guidance, and leadership, I will dedicate myself to being a righteous man of God, husband, father, friend, and witness for Him in this world. I will worship God in the presence of His people. I will protect and build up Christ’s church. I will serve the will and purpose of God in seeking the salvation of as many people, as possible, the spiritual growth of myself and my fellow believers, and the health and well-being of God’s forever family of faith. To whatever God calls me to, I will … I will … I will serve Jesus with all my heart. This is holy resolve.
From holy resolve, we choose steadfast determination. Paul tells us in Romans 14:13: “Determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” Our beliefs, thoughts, and character, then, matter quite terribly. Why? Because our beliefs determine our thoughts, our thoughts determine our character, and our character determines our actions. Jesus, in Luke 6:45, reminds us: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil: for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Now, then, according to the Bible, we will have a devil of a time saying what is right, doing what is right, and wielding positive, biblical influence, while we are constantly believing, thinking, and behaving wrongly. Here is some powerful advice from Philippians 4:8: “Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel passed away on July 2, 2016, at the age of 87. He is remembered for many things, one of which was living through Hitler’s concentration camps and sharing his experience in books and speeches. Through such opportunities, the horrors of the Holocaust are still remembered. He told a New York Times reporter in an interview in 1981, “I must do something with my life. It is too serious to play games with anymore, because in my place, someone else could have been saved. And, so, I speak for that person. On the other hand, I know I cannot” (https://illustrationideas.bible/elies-testimony/).
Wiesel believed that his horrible experiences as victim of Hitler’s hatred could be redeemed for some good; therefore, he wielded influence that helped other people understand the destructive nature of irrational hatred and insatiable hunger for absolute power. We find a perfect example of a man who used his influence for good in Joseph, son of Jacob, in the Bible. Sold into slavery by his brothers, forced to live in a foreign country, falsely accused of attempted rape, jailed multiple times, Joseph had every reason to be bitter toward his family, Egypt’s pharaoh, and life. However, the opposite is true. Instead of revenge, Joseph chose to wield his powerful influence for good. He kept and nurtured his faith in God, lived his life with exceptional integrity, received the promotion to prime minister of Egypt, and saved both Egypt and Israel from starvation during a punishing seven-year drought. When finally reunited with his brothers in Egypt, he said in Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
According to Elie and Joseph’s examples, we move from steadfast determination to focused action. Every one of us carries some measure of influence with others. They may be spouses, children, brothers, sisters, other family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, employers, or employees. God would have us influence them for His good, point them to salvation in Christ, assist them in living the Christian life valiantly, bravely, and passionately. To whatever extent we can help them succeed in their God-given callings, we should wield our influence with precision and compassion remembering Solomon’s wisdom from Proverbs 27:17: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
As God’s dear children through faith in Jesus Christ, we are in this world as His ambassadors. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus called His followers to be salt and light. As salt preserves, changes the nature of everything it touches, and makes food taste better, we are to preserve that which is good, honorable, and godly. When our lives touch others, the Holy Spirit in us should change them for good from the inside out. If we wield the Christian influence God gives us as we should, our corner of the world becomes a better place, a God-honoring place. As light dispels darkness, illuminates surroundings, and shows the safe way forward, when we shine the light of Jesus around us, sin and evil are buffeted and diminished, the life of Christ burns brightly for others to see, people see the way to salvation and new life in Jesus, and some of them choose to surrender their lives to Christ’s lordship and serve Him.
Friends, Jesus, in a serious teaching moment, said to His disciples in Luke 17:1: “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” He wanted them to know that people are going to say things and do things that hinder and prohibit others from making their way to Him for salvation and new life. Moreover, they will purposefully try to slow down and halt the progression of the gospel message and the growth of His church. His message was do not be one of them. Alternatively, Jesus Christ living in and through us gives us the opportunity of a lifetime to conduct ourselves in such a way that what is accomplished is celebrated in heaven for all eternity. We have an invincible Savior, an indestructible message, and an indomitable mission. What we need is an unyielding, holy resolve, steadfast determination, and focused action.
Make up your mind to today to wield the influence God gives you for the glory of Jesus Christ, the growth of His church, and the extension of His kingdom from right where you are to the ends of the earth.