Are You an Influencer?

 

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before four God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-10 ESV).

 

I always ask the question of new clients concerning what their vocation is. It gives me some insight to the stress or anxiety they may be facing. However, I experienced a first recently. In answering that question, the young lady I was talking with said, “I’m a professional influencer.” Y’all, I know I’m not nearly as current on present trends and current common language, but I was completely lost. I must have shown my confusion by my facial expression because she explained: “You know, I tell people what the best products to buy are and influence their decisions.” I stammered, “That’s a job?” She laughed and said, “I have a weekly podcast with thousands of listeners who subscribe and companies pay me to test and recommend their products.” She went on to share that her annual salary is well into six figures!

 

“Influencing” is not a new thing, just a new word to describe the action. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reflects on the powerful effects of influence in this young church. Through Paul and his companions they were introduced to Jesus and, in turn, began to reflect Jesus themselves. Look again at verse 7: “You became a model to all the believers in [the surrounding area]… The Lord’s message rang out from you … your faith in God has become known everywhere.” Talk about influence!

 

Think about your own faith journey and who has influenced you. Who made Jesus real to you? And how about your own influence? What would it look like for the good news of Jesus to ring out from your life today?