Lessons From
Animals--"Influence"
"Live such good lives among
non-believers that they may see your good deeds and glorify
God..."
1 Peter
2:12
In my last article, I implied that one of my
dogs, Annie, might not have been the best of influences on my other
dog, Kasey. A bit of explanation is in order:
When I adopted Kasey in December of 2002,
she was about a year old. And, aside from her unruly knack for
escaping from the kennel, she was VERY well-behaved. So well-behaved,
I would walk her along the lake without a leash, and she would stay
by my side--regardless of the distractions around her. In fact, it
was on one of these very walks that we found Orphan Annie, a stray at
the lake. (Cue musical interlude while narrator says, "And the rest
is history
")
Annie
was NOT as well-behaved as Kasey--probably because she was not as
well-trained as Kasey. And, in short order, it began to rub off.
Kasey began running off with Annie. Her "listening and minding"
skills began to diminish. I had to leash her while walking the
lake--because now EVERY dog was a potential playmate! Very often I
was reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:33--"Do not be misled: 'Bad company
corrupts good character.'" And while I dearly love my dog Annie, I
cannot deny she may have corrupted some of Kasey's good
character!
The same is often true for us. Who is your
company? Who has influence over you? Are they of good character, or
do they corrupt character? Do they draw you closer to Jesus? Another,
equally important, question: who do YOU have influence over? Do you
draw others closer to Jesus?
2 Peter 2:12 states, "Live such good lives
among non-believers that they may see your good deeds and glorify
God
" (paraphrased). Even when we aren't actively witnessing to
others, our behavior and conduct reflects the Lord we serve. The
question then becomes: HOW does it reflect?
There's an interesting dialogue found in
Jeremiah 3. The Lord is speaking to the peoples of two countries,
Israel and Judah, and speaking of their disloyalty in worshiping
idols. He speaks metaphorically, as if speaking of two women who have
committed adultery. In Jeremiah 3:6 - 9, He says it this
way:
During the
reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what
faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill
and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery
there. I thought that after she had done all this she would
return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister
Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate
of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet
I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she
also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel's
immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and
committed adultery with stone and wood."
Judah saw Israel's behavior, adopted it, and
entered into a life of sin. Israel should have been a model of faith.
Unfortunately, Israel WAS a model--a bad one!
As followers of Christ, we're called to set
a good example. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, "We are therefore Christ's
ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us." We are
Christ's ambassadors--we represent Jesus
Christ! Let's make sure we're setting a good example. Be careful who
influences you--and be careful how you influence others.
In Christ,
--Pastor Dan
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Last modified date: January 1, 2018