Influencing, Not Being Influenced

 Many people fall into the trap of doing what everyone else is doing. They are just going with the flow. If they hear another person say something, they just go along with it most of the time. They do not think for themselves or try to discern what is best. They are just being influenced. That is not a good life strategy.

God had to tell Jeremiah about this situation. (Jeremiah 15:19) He told Jeremiah, "If you return to Me, I will restore you, so you can continue to serve Me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be My spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you." What a great lesson for all of us!

Why would God use us, if we allowed ourselves to drift away from Him, because we were influenced by other people and other things besides Him? When that happens, we are useless to God. We are a bad example, and we would lead people astray, too. However, if we return to God, then He will use us in His service.

We must speak good words that are true and uplifting, instead of just speaking the worthless words that most people around us speak all the time. We must speak about more than sports, fashions, and the weather. Then, God will use us as His spokesman. This requires us to be the one doing the influencing, rather than being influenced by the wrong people.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 17-19.