“Then I
pressed further, ‘What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the
fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?’” (Neh 5:9 HCSB).
Sadly, it’s very
easy to find lists of celebrities who have been arrested for DUI – driving under
the influence – with frazzled hair and bloodshot eyes, yet they remain famous. You’d
think they’d fall out of the good graces of popular opinion. But, it’s almost
as if these stars have society under their
influence.
The truth is
we’re all under the influence. Of something. Or of someone. That’s Nehemiah’s
point. He’s telling the people to act like they ought because they’re God’s
people. Over whom do we have an influence? Let’s talk about three categories.
Primarily,
parents have their children under their influence. Can we be real frank here?
Moms, Dads, if you’re not enthusiastically dedicated to the Lord and His
church, please don’t expect your kids to be. According to the Pew Research
Center, 32% of America’s young adults (under 30) identify themselves as
“religiously unaffiliated.” However, “those who leave faith tend to come from
homes where they were not regularly made to attend church as teenagers or
Sunday School as children. They were more likely to report not ‘having had a
very strong religious faith as a child or teenager’”
(pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones…). Scary. Parents, this is on us. Deut 6:7,
though part of the Old Law, speaks volumes to our responsibility, “You shall teach them diligently to your
children…” This is a reminder to teach God’s words to our kids. But, we
know the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” We are the primary
influence on our kids’ spiritual lives – and that’s reality.
Adults in
general, we too have the younger generations under our influence. Our kids,
from the age they’re aware, pay attention to us. And, by “our kids” I mean the
kids in our congregation, the kids in our sphere of influence. When they look
around on Sunday night and Wednesday night and don’t see adults they expect to
see, they notice. When they hear us speak poorly of fellow Christians or of
church activities, they pay attention.
Finally,
Christians, we have the world under our influence. That’s what Nehemiah is
saying. The world will look at you to see how Christians are supposed to be.
Another adage: “Most people would rather see a sermon than hear one.” That’s
our lives! Therefore, we have to watch how we represent Christ in our lives –
on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, at the office, wherever we are. When we
live as children of God in our daily lives, Paul says in Phil 2:15, we will “shine among them like stars in the sky.”
But if we don’t, unlike celebrities, we will
fall out of the graces of popular opinion. Let’s make our aim to follow Peter’s
encouragement in 1 Pet 2:11-12, “I beg you…having your conduct honorable
among the Gentiles…they may, by your
good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
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