I never really thought of myself as an influencer but the other day, I got a glimpse how my actions influence those around me.
While I was driving to work one day, I was going to pass a large van, but when I got just in his blind spot he signaled to move into my lane and started to move over. However, he realized I was there he stopped moving over, but kept his signal light on. At this point I had two choices, I could speed up and get past him before he tries to move over again, or I can slow down and let him move over. I chose the latter and slowed down and let him move over, which forced the car behind me to also slow down. My thought was if I sped up, the car behind me might do the same and the poor van might not get to move over in time to get where he needed to be.
Sure enough at the next stop light he moved into the left turn lane, where myself and the car behind me were also going. The light turned yellow as I was entering the intersection, and I did go through it, however it did turn red before I made it all the way through, I know that was a bad decision and I should have stopped, but didn’t. As I looked in my rear-view mirror, the car behind me followed me through the light which was clearly red for him. This happens a lot here in Las Vegas, but that is no excuse; if I had stopped, I would have forced him to stop and everyone’s commute would have been a little safer.
It seems to be human nature to follow the person leading you, for example, if they run the red light, you do too, if they cut someone off in traffic, you can too. It’s eye opening and made me think about other aspects of life, such as, if a Christian goes down a questionable path (drinking, watching questionable TV, etc.) or doesn’t follow all the rules, then new believers following will most likely do the same and before you know it you can’t tell the Christians from the rest of the world. It’s a lot of pressure and I am not sure I’m ready to be responsible for other choices based on influence I have on them, whether I realize it or not.
My choices matter because others will see and possibly copy. Am I ready to give an account to Jesus of why someone else might stumble because of the choices I made? This is powerful and a little scary for me. I now think about these little things and how they can have a huge impact on other people’s lives. I hope to make better choices in life, big and small, so not to lead someone, knowingly or unknowingly, down a wrong or questionable path. I think this will take a lifetime to master, but each step will get me closer, little by little.
