by Ron Bare
We’ve referenced the Parable of the Talents several times this year, but today we want to consider it from a different angle. In this passage, the servants who honored their master with their talents were given more talents in the end. The servant who did not honor his master with his talent had it taken away. Like these servants, God has given each of us time, talents, and treasure to manage. And like the master, God cares about how we choose to steward these resources. When we manage them well, we’re entrusted with more. With more responsibility comes greater influence. But what does it mean to steward influence?
Just like our time, talent, and treasure, influence is a resource we’re called to manage with intention and humility. Stewarding our influence comes down to two core ideas. The first is understanding that “influence” is engrained in everything we have–skills, money, time, personality, opportunities, etc.–AND, they all are from and belong to God. If we forget this truth, we find ourselves in dangerous territory. We risk using our influence however we want, wherever we want. But, when we trust that God is the owner of everything that we have, including our influence, we defer to Him. We must consider how He might have us use the gifts of influence, since they are His, not ours. Stewardship starts with surrender.
Secondly, stewarding our influence means bringing God’s kingdom to Earth as we rule, subdue, and take care of the Earth. In last month’s blog post, we were reminded that in the beginning, God created everything, and gave us dominion over the Earth. Influence is not about personal gain. It’s about participating in the work that God has set up for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
We have to be careful when talking about stewarding influence, as our main goal should not be to gain more influence, but rather to be faithful with what God has already given to us. If our primary pursuit is influence itself, we can quickly fall into traps of power, greed, and self-promotion. In their book, Lead with Prayer by Cameron Doolittle, Peter Greer, and Ryan Skoog, they write, “Influence, like money, is something to steward for God’s glory if it comes. But, like money, it’s deadly when it becomes an ultimate pursuit.” This is a powerful reminder that influence should never be our end goal–it’s simply a means to honor God with what we’ve been given. True fulfillment does not come from ‘more,’ but from faithfulness. We read in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Greater influence isn’t just a blessing, it’s a greater responsibility.
So why should we be intentional to steward our influence? Because influence allows us to impact others, positively or negatively, whether at work, home, church, or in the community. When God grants us influence, we must always remember the purpose for this influence – that it is a gift from the Lord that we are to use to bring His will and His kingdom to earth. And through our influence we can help create great impact!
I believe in a lot of ways, a synonym for influence could be “leadership.” As I consider those around me that I have the opportunity to “lead” or “influence”, how am I doing so with intention? Do my children see me in God’s Word each day? Do my actions line up with my words? Do my co-workers hear me speaking with kindness and a clean mouth? Do my friends notice I spend my money in ways that honor God’s truth? Do I spend my time with efficiency and intention – possibly serving in a ministry or mentoring another? Am I someone that others can trust? Depend on? Do I use my skills and talents to bring increase in the work God has entrusted to me? These are some of the very practical day to day ways we steward our influence. And as we are faithful to steward well in these small ways, we are given opportunities to steward and influence in even larger ways.
I pray that in our pursuit of stewarding our influence, our eyes are not on the influence itself, but on what we can do to honor God with our resources. As we grow in our stewardship, our influence will naturally expand. The question becomes: How are we stewarding that influence?