We sometimes forget how much influence we have on the people around us.  We are constantly being watched by others.  Whether it is our co-workers on the job or our children at home, our actions, as well as our words, are being judged.  The importance of our influence cannot be overstated.  We must take it seriously in all our endeavors.  This week, let’s give some consideration to the different areas of our lives where we might influence others.

A good place to start is in the home.  That is where we influence others first, as well as the most.  The greatest influence that takes place in the home is that which parents have on their children.  This is probably the most powerful of all influences.  One of the greatest things parents can do is influence their children to have a strong faith in God.  This was something that God demanded of the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV)
⁶  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

It is clear that God wanted parents to influence their children to serve Him.  The best way to do that is by teaching them God’s Word and keeping it before them.  Today, parents should take teaching their children the Word of God seriously.  Fortunately for Timothy, he had those in his life who did so.  Paul reminded him that the sincere faith that he had was passed down to him from his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).  It is indicated that they influenced him to have faith in God by teaching him the Word.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

While teaching children God’s Word, and thereby helping them to have faith in God (Romans 10:17) is a critical practice for parents to have, their influence must begin with their example.  If you are a Christian with children, what kind of example are you setting for them?  Do they see you seeking the kingdom of God first in your life?  Your children must see that serving God is important to you.

Do you attend all the services of the saints?  Do your children see you praying and reading God’s Word regularly?  While there are no guarantees, when your children see you putting God before everything else in your life, you are at least influencing them to do the same thing.  In the end, they must exercise their own free will and decide for themselves how they will live their lives, but you will be guiltless in the eyes of God for doing your best to lead them to the Lord.  If you live right, and teach your children consistently, there is a good chance that you will succeed in influencing them for good.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
⁶  Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.