John Maxwell and Jim Dornan put together a great book called "Becoming a Person of Influence". Right from the outset they make it clear that regardless of what we want with influence, we all have it with others. Some have it on a much larger scale than others, but we all influence people: in work, at home, in shopping, in driving, in all we do - we show a bit of who we are and what we believe is appropriate to do.
In Ephesians, chapters 4, 5, and 6, Paul gives us clear instruction on how we are to live. What examples does God want us to give to the world through the way we live our lives? If we are sent by our boss to a convention, a meeting, or a sales call, what will people think of our corporation based on our conduct? If we are sent to another nation as an ambassador of our country, what impression do people get based on how we carry ourselves?
It's an easy picture to draw, but, let's take it a step further. What if we had a camera crew come out to visit us at work, in school, in traffic (uh-oh...) and they were going to film us on a live simulcast to 180 nations around the world? What if, they had publicized this event for months in advance so that the world, indeed, would be watching? And what if, moments after they began filming, we were struck dead by a massive stroke? What, aside from our untimely death, would be the last words uttered from our mouths? What would the last thing we did, be?
A kind word of encouragement to a classmate? An act of selflessness for a co-worker? A one-finger wave and curse yelled at the idiot with his turn signal off? A word of condemnation to that subordinate that "just won't learn"? A "piece of our mind" to that professor who doesn't teach the way we learn?
Like it or not, we are all role models. We model what role we believe to be acceptable behavior given the circumstances around our actions. Whether people chose to follow that example is much farther removed from our control.
So, what do you want your last moment to be? How do you want to be remembered? How are you being remembered right now?
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