influence Archives - Bare Wealth Advisors

by Ron Bare

We often hear the phrase, “you don’t need to have power to have influence,” but then struggle to see where that plays out practically. I’d invite you to consider a coworker, past or present, who has a way of quietly encouraging others. They may not have a leadership title, but they bring peace to the workplace and help build a culture of trust, don’t they? Over time, they shape the company’s culture in ways formal leaders sometimes can’t. This is the heart of Christian influence. God entrusts each of us with gifts – relationships, time, and opportunities. How we use those gifts matters, and like that coworker, I hope you are encouraged to leverage your influence, not to make your name great, but to serve God and others.

We all have countless opportunities to steward our influence for God’s kingdom. But how do we know we have been given this role? We read about it in the very first chapter of the Bible! In Genesis 1:28, God says to mankind, “Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then in Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” In giving mankind authority to “rule” and “take care of” the earth, God demonstrated significant trust. With this trust comes great responsibility. Wherever we engage with this world, at home, the office, our church, or our community, let these passages be a reminder that faithful daily work in these arenas is part of honoring God’s entrusted authority and influence.

Why does this matter? Luke 16:10 reads, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” When we honor God by faithfully engaging our small responsibilities, our influence naturally expands. A small moment of choosing integrity at work, an act of generosity, or a moment of thinking before speaking – all of it shows that we take our responsibilities from God seriously. That small moment of integrity could even evolve into a greater opportunity for influence. Maybe a boss takes note of your integrity. Time after time, integrity proves to be innate in you, and when submitting a name for a promotion, your boss thinks of you. Now, trusted with a supervisory role over other employees, you have even more influence that can be used for good. Be someone who is trustworthy with little.

Genesis speaks to the fact that we certainly have influence, because of the gifts God has trusted us with. But there’s a parable in Matthew 25 that speaks to the idea of what exactly we should be doing with this influence. The master in this parable entrusts resources, or talents, to three servants. The master leaves for a time and upon his return, finds that two servants invested the talents and multiplied what was given to them, while the third buried the talent, preserving its worth. The master is pleased with the first two servants but condemns the third, going so far as to call him “wicked.” Our influence is just like those talents. Given to us by our master, God, we are reminded that He expects growth, not simply preservation. How are you growing your influence? Today we looked at influence from a 30,000 foot view. Next month, we’re going to come down into the weeds. We hope you’ll consider joining us in October, as we talk about practical ways to steward our influence.

by Ron Bare

Each year at Bare, we choose a theme to focus on that guides us both internally and externally. As we considered the theme for 2025, we chose “year of increase.” At first glance, it may seem practical for a wealth advising firm to have a focus on increase. However, this year is not about increasing wealth for the purpose of becoming wealthy, but rather for the purpose of increasing our influence. Our culture tells us that we will ‘win’ if we can grow our wealth, get the highest rate of return, or show a higher net worth statement at the end of each year. Yet this cultural view falls short of the Biblical view of success, influence and increase.

The Biblical view of bringing an increase to what we have been given draws us to look at two places – the origin of life in Genesis, and a parable in Matthew 25. In these passages, we see that growing and increasing the things God has entrusted to us is an important piece of stewardship. Does this exclusively refer to money? Is bringing an increase in all areas even within our control?

We have found that a great way to explore these questions is to start at the beginning – the very beginning. In Genesis, we see God’s final and most stunning creation: humanity. He created human beings and gave them a few instructions: to multiply, fill the earth, govern the earth, and rule. He gave it all to humans and said, ‘it is yours!’ This can easily be a passing thought, but when we stop to reflect on what God has done, we are reminded of the incredible gift – not just to enjoy creation, but also to steward it! (also read Ps. 8, Gen. 1 and 2, and Matt. 25). I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’d want to hand over the keys to my creation to someone else!

God has given over His creation to us for the time being, and much like the master in the parable, He will return to see what we have done with it. In the parable in Matthew 25, both servants who increased what had been given to them were praised, while the one who buried it in the ground was punished.

Readers of this story tend to react through one of two extremes, neither of which we ascribe to. One extreme is the reader who believes that God will always bless them exponentially, and that if they just trust Him, wealth is not far behind. The other extreme is the reader who is filled with fear, like the final servant in the parable. This person is afraid of risk and afraid of losing what was given to them, so they do nothing with their assets. This person doesn’t work, invest, or give.

Unlike the person enamored with the prosperity gospel and certainly unlike the fearful servant, we want to focus on increasing our resources for the glory of God, so that we can give, serve, and shape culture. Our tagline at Bare is “Beyond Abundance,” and we believe it helps us carry a vision beyond simply amassing wealth. Instead, it is centered around influencing the world for good. Living “beyond abundance” assumes a confidence in God, acknowledging that He can richly provide for us beyond what we need, so that we can generously share with others. A “beyond abundance” way of living offers freedom and opportunities to live a life of fullness, and to impact the world far beyond what we could do on our own.

In 2025, we will explore together what it means to steward all that God has given to us to carry out these instructions. Stewardship is first an understanding that we are not the owners but rather the managers of what we have (earth, wealth, time, talents, etc.) and secondarily an understanding of the responsibilities that come from the owner (God). We will focus on four key areas this year – our vision, our work, our wealth, and our influence. Join us as we consider how intentional stewardship and extravagant generosity can impact the world to be just as it was originally intended – an environment where humans can flourish.

Tag: influence

Stewarding our Influence – Part 1

Exploring Biblical “Increase” in 2025