One of the most well-known influencers is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. He is widely known for creating a successful electric car company and then becoming one of the world’s richest people in the world. He is not only known because of Tesla, but also for his viral tweets. In December 2020 he tweeted “One word: Doge.” Have you ever heard of Dogecoin? Dogecoin was a cryptocurrency created in 2013 as a joke. The cryptocurrency was trading for less than a penny last year. Dogecoin jumped after his tweet and at one point was up over 700%. The joke turned into a market cap today of over $6 billion dollars! His influence fascinates me, and it made me think about how we influence each other.
Most of us do not have that type of influence on social media, but we all influence people through normal everyday conversations. This began all the way back in the Garden of Adam and Eve. In the garden, there was a serpent named Satan who was prowling around. He had a conversation with Eve where he used the power of his words to influence Eve, tempting the desires of her heart. Eve gave into temptation and then led Adam into the same path. The whole human race has suffered the consequences of that one conversation.
We may not realize how much we influence others by the words we speak every day. Have you ever left a conversation feeling better or worse? We can use words of encouragement or discouragement, complaining or gratitude, gossip or praise, optimism, or pessimism. The words we use reveal a deeper reality about us, the state of our hearts. Our hearts are the center of who we are, revealing to those around us what we think, want, and do. We are always influencing others around us, in ways that are helpful and ways that are not. One example in Scripture shows how words can be used to turn away wrath or stir up anger (Prov. 15:1).
Our words of influence occur both in person and through our online presence. We post our thoughts that turn into words, we reveal our lives in videos and pictures. We create a reality of our lives for others to see and react to. The one reading might respond by commenting or liking a post but is also passively influenced as they think about the person who is sharing. Have you ever felt jealous of someone posting their success or coveted their life? So much can be said about how much we are shaped by what we take in when we are scrolling through posts.
Day by day we influence, and others are influencing us. As we are interacting with others in the world, we are being shaped and we are shaping others by the words we speak. What are you using your influence for?