The word “influencer” has become popular especially as it relates to social media. You can do searches for the top Instagram influencers (or any other media). Mostly this relates to how many followers someone has. One article I read had the top five Instagram influencers (for the moment) - they may be names you’ve heard.
-Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has 533m
-Argentine Soccer player Lionel Messi with 419m
-Celebrity Kylie Jenner is next with 378 followers.
-Actress Selena Gomez has 370 m
-Actor Dwayne Johnson, the Rock has 358m.
Companies sometimes hire big names like this to promote their products because they believe that their influence will lead to greater sales. Though this is not a new concept, the rise of social media has given some people a voice they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Social media didn’t exist in the first century, but influencers did! The Greatest Influencer of all time is Jesus Christ. Matthew 5-7 is the Sermon on the Mount, and much of it relates to being an influence for the Kingdom. It begins with the familiar beatitudes - the Blessed life. The Blessed life is characterized by being poor in spirit, merciful, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Following those distinctive teachings of Jesus, he calls us to be people of influence in the world around us.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus teaches that each one of us is in possession of the power of influence that can be used to bring light and joy to the world. We are familiar with this because we know that there are those who have had a significant influence on our own lives.
“The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.” ~Henry Ward Beecher
The world needs the influence of Christ. The world, left to itself, will veer toward self-destruction. We are called to be influencers - people who bring the influence of the Kingdom into our world.
1. What Hinders Our Influence? (Matthew 5:13)
When we are Indifferent - A lack of concern for the world around us or a focus on our own lives without concern for others takes away our saltiness.
When we are Ineffective - When we fail to live up to our potential. Negative attitudes, focused on the material things of life, focused on self.
When we are Indistinguishable - Oswald Chambers says that many Christians want to be the sugar of the world. Our lives, attitudes, and actions ought to be visibly distinct from the world around us.
Unsalty Salt really isn’t salt at all. Swindoll wrote, “If we allow ourselves to be watered-down, tasteless, bland, just-like-the-world-around-us Christians, we will lose our testimony and thus our ability to add meaning to people’s lives.” This is a warning Jesus offers so that we recognize that if we ignore our influence, we lose it.
2. Four Powerful Ways We Influence the World (Matthew 5:14-16)
We Enlighten (You are the light…)
The Christian life is not just about us - it’s about those within our sphere of influence. Christianity is others-centered. Matthew 22:37-39 LSB says, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” God called us out of darkness into light - so that we can call others into the light. 1 Peter 2:9b says, “…Proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
We Defeat Darkness (cannot be hidden)
The Jesus life is so different that it is hard to hide. Our attitudes, speech, way of life, and devotion to God. If we blend in too much with the world, we lose the opportunity to defeat the darkness around us. William Barclay wrote, “A man’s Christianity should be perfectly visible to all men.”
We Do Good (they may see your good works…)
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” - John Wesley
We Bring Glory to Our Father (glorify your father who is in heaven)
Psalm 115:1 reminds us, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
3. Influence Your World
What You Say - Purposely encourage and bless the young and old around you. Colossians 4:6 “Let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should answer each person.” What words can we use to influence someone for Christ today?
How You Care - See people as God sees them; beloved unique creatures whom Christ died to save. “The Christ in me sees the Christ in you.” Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Carry the burdens of those who you can serve by listening, encouraging.
Model the Jesus Life - Being an Example for your Church, Family, School, Workplace, Marketplace. "Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” -Albert Einstein. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul writes, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Conclusion
Christian, you are an influencer in ways you’ll never know. Keep your heart tender to God's work within. It is impossible to re-salt salt. But in the Kingdom, God can restore the saltiness of His people.
Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Because of the influence of Jesus, YOU ARE the light of the world.
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Extra Article: Influence Beyond Our Imagination
We really never know how our influence is going to travel and bring blessings to others in life. I read about a Sunday School teacher named Edward Kimball, who won a shoe store clerk to Jesus. The clerk’s name was D.L. Moody. You may know of the influential work of Moody as an evangelist. He traveled to England and inspired a young pastor named F. B. Meyer. Meyer is also a well known teacher and evangelist. He actually became one of the great Bible expositors and his books are still read today. He came to the United States and preached on college campuses, and was used to convert a student to Christ – Wilbur Chapman. Chapman would hear Moody preach and became one of his co-workers. In time, Chapman employed an ex-baseball player as his assistant. His name was Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday became a great evangelist and preached in Charlotte, NC. Also at that same place, an evangelist named Mordecai Ham came to preach in a tent meeting. One night responding to the invitation was a young man named Billy Graham. There is probably no other minister who is more well-known than Billy Graham. All of this occurred because a Sunday School teacher took the time to tell a shoe store clerk about Jesus.
When we live out the Jesus Life, we will never know who we may influence. But God can use your godly example to have a large influence over time. You may wonder if you are influencing anyone at all! But seeds are being planted, prayers are being answered, and there is hope that even after you are gone, the life you lived will still be influencing those who remember you!
The very existence of Christianity is a testimony to the power of influence. Across the ages Godly men and women of faith passed along what they knew and believed. Maybe they weren’t social media influencers with millions of followers. Maybe it was just a grandmother passing along her faith quietly and slowly and effectively.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. - 2 Timothy 1:5
John Dobbs
