“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” — John 14:6, NIV
We have a choice of what we let influence our lives. The people we let in, the content we watch, things we listen to and places we spend our time can all shift our perspectives and outlooks.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” We can try our best to keep influence that we know will distract us from our goal and faith far from our minds and our hearts.
At times it may be difficult or even unavoidable if we are put into situations that we cannot control. However, there are a few things we can control, for the most part, that can influence us for good or bad.
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” — Proverbs 13:20, NIV
The people we hang out around have great influence on us. In fact, it has been shown that we mirror the actions and behaviors of people we spend time with.1 Proverbs describes this by saying, “walk with the wise and become wise.”
If we spend time around people who have Godly habits and positive attitudes, we can be pushed by this influence to grow. However, if we fill our time with people who exhibit qualities that we do not want to hold, we are at risk of picking up on those qualities.
This is one reason why having a strong community is important. Having others who are willing to use their influence in our lives to help us grow is a treasure we can cherish.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” — Philippians 4:8, NIV
What we watch and listen to also has power over our lives. In today’s world, social media and other forms of entertainment, such as movies and music, are everywhere.
Similar to the people we spend time with, some of this can help us and some of it can hurt us. For example, some movies may be light-hearted and make us laugh and some videos might teach us new information. However, other videos and media might influence us to feel angry or frustrated.
Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are true and good. We may have to analyze if the types of media we are consuming are influencing us toward God or are taking us further from Him.
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” — Matthew 16:26, NIV
How we spend our time shows what we let hold the power in our lives. For example, we may have a hobby that we pour our time into. Maybe, it’s reading or dancing or fixing things. However, there could be other ways we spend our time too, like working overtime, going to church, visiting friends and family members, etc.
How we spend our time, which is a very valuable asset, shows what we let hold power over time in our lives. However, no hobby or amount of money is worth our heart. Matthew 16 poses a question asking what the world is worth if we give up our soul.
