The loudest voice, the greatest influence …

Any of you who are parents will likely quickly relate to this confession by Rob Tucker …

“My kids used to watch Barney growing up. I could not stand that show! The songs, the purple dinosaur, it all seemed like too much. A funny thing would happen though. We would start watching it together, and before long I would look around to find I was the only person in the living room still watching the show! Of course, I wouldn’t have even turned the show on if it weren’t for them. Funny how the passions of others can begin to bleed over to us.”

It was this penchant for letting the passions of others influence us — sometimes overly so — that led me to share a simple piece of advice with a bright, Christian young man who is in negotiation for his first significant “career” level job. He explained how he wanted to make wise decisions regarding his personal future and his career, so he was spending some time in a mentoring relationship with a few older men who had been successful in their careers. At the end of his story, I offered only a simple piece of advice:

In your life, make sure God’s voice is the loudest, and His influence is the greatest.

I applauded this young guy’s efforts of seeking wise counsel, but we live in a time when most people professing to be Christians have NEVER been in a real discipling relationship, yet we clamor and hustle for mentorship from “successful” people. Such behavior can land us in situations where we’re being made disciples of people rather than disciples of Jesus, with the voices of men ringing loudest in our minds, and “successful” men having more influence in our lives than does God.

Again, it can be beneficial to seek wise counsel, but only if we make sure that the voice that is loudest in our lives is God’s, and that He is our undisputed greatest influence. To achieve that, we must be whole-heartedly committed to, and dogged disciplined in, a life of prayer and daily time in the Word of God (talking and listening to God). Anything less could result in our allowing other voices to become too loud and too influential, which is what one famous writer became to his wife, according to a story told by Susan K. Harris in her book, “The Courtship of Olivia Langdon and Mark Twain”:

Samuel Clemens, more commonly known by his pen name, Mark Twain, was a gifted writer. Yet Twain held a deep contempt for Christianity. He once referred to it as a “slaughterhouse religion” because of the doctrine of the blood atonement, and he often turned his ridicule on those who believed the Bible. He met and fell in love with Olivia Langdon, a young woman from a good Christian family. While they were courting he appeared to have downplayed his lack of faith, and she agreed to marry him.

After their marriage, Twain began to openly mock Christianity once again, and before too much time passed, Olivia stopped attending church. Twain and his family suffered many great reversals, including a complete financial collapse and the death of a beloved daughter. At one point, Twain attempting to comfort his grieving wife said, “Livy, if it comforts you to lean on your faith, do so.” She replied sadly, “I cannot. I do not have any faith left.”

The people we spend most of our time with, and cultural influences such as books, music, social media, and television that we allow into our hearts and minds have a dramatic influence on us. This is why Solomon warned of the dangers of wanting to spend time with those who are evil.

“Don’t envy evil people or desire their company. For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble,” Proverbs 24:1-2

Who do you allow to have the loudest voice in your life? Who have you established as the greatest influence in your life? How committed are you to a life of prayer and daily being in the Word of God?

Scotty