Thursday; October 1

Who are we hanging out with?  As I look at that sentence, I am not sure it is grammatically correct; but I think you get my point.  Who is influencing us?  In years past, this might have been relegated to who we saw on a day-to-day basis, but in today’s digital world, we can even be influenced by people we have never met.  So with global influence in mind, I want us to consider the question, “Are they good for us?”.  Do the people we have a physical relationship with make us better?  Do the people we follow on social media help us to be our best? 

One of the things I have come to notice in my lifetime is how contagious anger and hatred can be.  Humans have a propensity to get whipped up into a frenzy pretty easily.  Again, in days gone by we might be able to mitigate this potential by reducing the size of the crowds (mobs); but caustic people can have a massive footprint today.  This is why we need to be very careful who we allow to influence us.  Centuries ago, the wise King Solomon noted, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself.” (Proverbs 22:24-25).  Again, with the shrinking of the world in the 21st Century, this has the potential to become a more universal problem.  Time and technology have made it easier to prompt anger and promote hate.  Additionally, the added incentive of anonymity tends to compound the influence.

Let’s be careful who we follow – personally or digitally.  Remember there is danger in anger.  Let’s go into adversarial situations with our eyes wide open.  When we do, we are apt to avoid the snares that influencers (and satan) like to set for us.

Think About It!


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