If you haven’t, read part one here
So 2 weeks ago was college rivalry week.
My team is the University of Michigan.
Their rival is Ohio State University.
Their game is literally reffered to as “The Game”.
This annual fracas brings out the best in both teams as they both try to ruin each others seasons.
Since I am overseas, one of the few ways I can watch this game is streaming it over the internet.
This wasn’t my first time watching a football game online.
As the game ended, I noticed something I had not noticed before. I walked into the living room and, now, two computers were on and streaming games as fans of multiple teams watched. And there it hit me. I brought this into the house. This was of my influence.
It is easy to forget that we all carry a level of influence wherever we go. If someone sad enters the room, the atmosphere is affected. If someone joyous enters the room, the atmosphere is affected. Truth is, when you or I enter a room, we change the atmosphere. The question is, how are we influencing the rooms we are in?
Before I arrived in Guatemala, no one was watching sports online. But since I have arrived, I have brought that change in the atmosphere.
This scenario made me think about other areas in my life that I have not stewarded the influence I carry well.
Mostly what comes to mind is relationally.
On Thanksgiving, I spoke to my brother on Skype for the first time in a month. The only thing we talked about was fantasy football. That sucks.
I know that we both are walking into new places to deepen our brotherhood, but unless we decide to influence conversations to be deeper, which is more uncomfortable, then they never will be.
That goes with so many relationships in my life.
I have the choice to speak life into people. To bring people back to what the Lord is doing/saying.
It is so much more comfortable to speak about superficial things than to speak about heart issues. There is a place to discuss sports, but when it is the landing spot of the conversation, then there is a problem.
I’m pretty tired of having friends that all we ever talk about is sports. It makes me feel that sports are more important to me than their hearts/lives.
Instead, I’d rather invest into the relationships I have been entrusted with love, life, and intentionality.
Proverbs 18:22 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
I believe that we live in a world that wants to be able to discuss the difficult things, however we are conditioned to feel shame, unworthiness, and loneliness. Its amazing how many people are going through similar struggles and need to be given words of life.
I, for one, choose to influence life.
