DEVOTION//Be an influencer

Bellyachers. Complainers. Snivelers. Whiners.

Quick. Off the top of your head. Do those terms remind you of anyone in the Bible?

Did Israel wandering in wilderness come to mind?

Master complainers

They complained about not having water. About not having a good Egyptian meal (complete with leeks, onions, and garlic). They complained that Moses was a lousy leader. They complained about four decades of "roughing it" in the desert.

But look what Numbers 11:4 says was a cause of their grumbling. "The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat!'"

The rabble? The nation of Israel did not escape slavery in Egypt alone. Other slaves joined the caravan to freedom.  

Not such good influencers

What an opportunity for the Israelites to influence those unbelieving people. God, in his grace, allowed them to travel with his people as a way to expose them to the gospel. But for that to happen, Israel would have to share their faith in Yahweh and to live it out. Israel would have to be the influencers, not the influencees.

Unfortunately, the opposite happened. The heathen rabble complained about the desert's harsh conditions. Influenced by the rabble's craving for "the good ol’ days," Israel climbed on that bandwagon rather than marching to their God's drumbeat.  “If only we had meat to eat!" they whined. "We never see anything but this manna!”

Influencer or influencee?

When I read that verse recently, I wondered how often am I the influencee rather than the influencer. How often do I join in the snarky complaining I read on Facebook? How often do I collapse under social pressure and bad-mouth my government?

That's opposite from the way it should work. My Savior calls me to be the influencer. The values, the mindset, the love I have received from him are for me to use to shape the "rabble" who live around me.

The Savior who brought me out of the eternal darkness of my sin calls me to reflect his light to the world. The reason: that others see his light through me in the Christ-like life I live and in the Christ-centered words I speak. The result: they will join me in glorifying my Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

 Dear Jesus, help me to be the influencer, not the influencee.