2 Chronicles 24:1-2
“Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”
Jehoiada’s influence on Joash’s life was great. Joash grew up in a home with a wicked mother. It is simply amazing that he did anything right for the LORD. His father followed Ahab’s life and lived wickedly. His mother was a contributor to her husband’s lifestyle. In fact, when her husband was killed, she tried to kill all of her children because she wanted the power of the throne of Israel. Simply put, she was a wicked woman.
Yet, Jehoiada, the priest, saved the life of Joash. His influence on this young man’s life caused him to do right. In spite of the home in which he was reared, and in spite of his wicked parents, the influence of a man of God on a young man’s life caused him to turn out right.
Influence is very important. Whoever gains the influence in someone’s life will determine what that person becomes. I look in my life and I can remember several people who had an influence in who I became. Of course, my parents had a great influence in giving me proper character traits. Dr. Jack Hyles had great influence in what type of preacher I became. A layperson, Jack Compton, had a great influence in my work habits. Pastor Rick Flanders had an influence in placing a fire in my heart to travel. A school teacher, Bernadine Fenters, placed a belief in me that God had something for me. These are just a few people who had an influence in my life. If one of them would have abused their influence, I may not be here today, and those whom God has used me to help would not have been helped.
Christian, you should never underestimate the power of influence you have in someone’s life. I promise you, some of these names I mentioned above had no idea how much influence they had in my life. There is someone whom God has placed in your life with whom you have influence. It doesn’t matter how much influence you have, it’s the fact that you have some influence that can change the course of their life.
Moreover, because you have influence in someone’s life, you need to be careful to live right. It would be sad if the one whom you influence saw you doing wrong. It would be sad if the moment you did wrong they saw it, and they deemed it okay to do the same wrong because they saw you do it. You must do right all the time because you don’t want to be guilty of influencing someone the wrong way.
Furthermore, don’t abuse your influence. When you know you have influence in someone’s life, you need to be sure that you use that influence for good. God entrusted you to have influence over someone’s life, and He will hold you accountable for how you used it.
Influence is a privilege to have, but with this privilege come great responsibility not to lead a person in the wrong way or to cause them to become disillusioned. I encourage you to look at your life and see if there is something you need to change that would cause those with whom you have influence to do wrong. Always live your life as if someone is watching you, because there is someone watching you, and what you do will either cause someone to do right or wrong. Live your life to cause others to do right.