Influence Isn’t Grace
Grace is completely free.
There’s nothing you and I can do to earn it.
It’s readily available because it’s provided free of charge by an Awesome God.
Influence MUST be earned.
I don’t have the right to speak to certain issue in certain people’s lives.
I don’t know them well enough.
I haven’t earned the respect and credibility with them.
Other people I can speak to those same issues in their lives.
I know them.
I have the respect from them.
Some people have the right to call me out when they find me doing certain things.
I won’t take offense.
I’ll listen.
Some people don’t have that right.
They don’t know what I’ve been through… they don’t have a close relationship with me.
You and I have to be careful not to speak into someone something that we haven’t earned the right to speak.
I also have to be careful that I speak life and truth into people who I’ve earned the right to speak with.
It’s a careful balance.
The more I balance it correctly, the more right I earn to speak into lives.
Influence…. It’s important, but it isn’t free.
Stressful Jobs
I came across this article a few days ago.
It lists the top 10 stressful jobs.
Here are a few that made the list…
- Real Estate Agent
- Emergency Medical Technician
- Newscaster
- Photo Journalist
- Public Relations Officer
- Commercial Pilot
Looking at that list, I can see where each would bring a certain level of stress. Caring for others, having other people’s livelihoods and well-being in your hands is certainly stressful and difficult work.
It just got me wondering…
What do you do? What’s the most stressful part of your job?
How to Not Be Average
What separates the successful people from the average people is the gap between dreaming and doing.
The successful person closes the gap.
The average person ignores the gap.
The successful person takes the chance.
The average person plays it safe.
Average people…
- Talk about what needs to be changed.
- Have self proclaimed solutions to problems.
- Can tell others how to fix what’s wrong.
- Figure out solutions to issues that they see.
- Dream about what could be if they ever had enough _____.
Successful people…
- Dream up solutions and do everything they can to see it happen.
- See a problem and fix it themselves.
- Sit in a meeting, leave, and do something with what they’ve envisioned.
- Don’t criticize how others are doing something because they’re busy doing what they do.
- Use their passion to make a difference.
Which are you?
Looks Like Forgiveness
We talk a lot about forgiveness this time of the year…
for good reason.
For those of us that have received the forgiveness of Christ,
we really have no excuse not to forgive others.
But I have to admit,
I struggle with forgiveness.
I struggle to let go of things when people hurt those that are closest to me and dearest to my heart.
It’s always more of a struggle for me to forgive when it’s someone close to me that’s hurting than when someone has hurt me directly.
I tend to want to protect those that are closest to me…even more than myself.
And so I battle to forgive.
To forgive others and to not let bitterness harbor in my heart.
I’ve come to realize that forgiveness usually requires an action.
Sure, we have to deal with forgiving others on a personal level with God, but it usually requires we take action to move past the hurt with the person that caused it in the first place.
- We reach out to them even though they may not deserve it.
- We pray for them to be blessed and see growth.
- We take the first step to repair the relationship.
Forgiveness usually requires action…it usually looks like something.
For Jesus it looked like a cross, 3 nails, and an empty tomb.
Where does forgiveness start for you?
What does forgiveness look like from a practical standpoint for your life situation?
![Lamentations 3:22 [#scripture #iphoneography #instagram]](http://distilleryimage0.s3.amazonaws.com/743a5a569b8611e180c9123138016265_5.jpg)
