Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Shauna: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Our question of the day is this: Are you a good steward of the influence you have on others?

Guest (Male): Yikes, that’s a convicting question because most of us don’t even think about our sphere of influence. We don’t think about who’s watching us react to disappointments, or who’s learning from our walk with Christ. We just assume that, hey, I’ve got friends, I’ve got family, I’ve got neighbors and coworkers, fellow students, folks in the community.

But we don’t often assess how our words, our attitudes and our actions, our choices about entertainment, our choices about books, movies, the kind of language we use. We don’t consider that recent outburst or that comment we made in our small group. We don’t think much about how these things influence others, either for the good or for the bad.

There was a time when I certainly didn’t think about such things. I assumed that my witness, my testimony, was just telling people how I came to Christ. I did not realize that a witness, a testimony, is really the way you live in front of other people, whether they are saved or unsaved. It’s the way you demonstrate to others how real we think Jesus is and whether or not we honor Him in the eyes of others.

Make no mistake, people, whether they know Christ or don't know Christ, all of them are watching. They are observing our conduct, our speech, and by it they are swayed one way or the other. They are either pushed a little closer to Christ, or they are nudged away from Him. That especially happens when our thoughtless actions and words give others the freedom to do the same, like, "Well, Barbara said that, she does it, why can't I?"

So the deal is God wants us to be a good steward of all the influence we have on other people, Christians and non-Christians.

Joni Eareckson Tada: Allow me to share how this whole idea became so important, so central to me. Back in the late 70s, when I began to see the success of the Joni book as well as the incredible response to the Joni movie produced by Billy Graham, whoa, it became so clear real fast that God had given me this large sphere of great influence.

No longer was I just the girl on the farm with her small circle of friends and her little church. Now, everybody seemed to be watching. And that meant I had a significant responsibility. Much like the parable of the talents in Matthew chapter 25, I realized I needed to be a wise steward of that talent, those opportunities where I went, what I said, how I lived, and with whom I hung around.

Even now, decades later, I dare not become reckless with the platform God has given me. For I long more than anything to one day hear my Master say, "Oh, Joni, well done. Good and faithful servant. Just look at the good accomplished in others by your careful witness." Friend, I want you one day to hear the same thing from Jesus.

God has given you a sphere of influence, whether great or small. And even if you are the one with the small circle of friends and attending that little church, people are still watching. They are learning from your example. What you say, how you live has such a huge impact on the people who are observing you, especially children who are observing you.

So please be a wise steward. Strengthen others with your integrity, with your careful thought to how you speak and act. Keep front and center in your thinking the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 25 because you do not want to jeopardize, you do not want to risk bringing your Savior any shame or any disappointment. Don’t you dare smear His good reputation. When it comes to your influence, you too want to hear from the Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant."