What Is My Influencer?

You have the opportunity to change anything around you.  This can be either positive or negative.  I think everyone on the planet has heard, "If your friends jump off a bridge, would you?"  As parents, we say this to try to get our children to stop following crowd mentality and think for themselves.  This can work beautifully unless certain circumstances happen.  These circumstances are in play today.  1) When a person feels insecure and unaccepted, they isolate and become hermits or they give up their values they've held in order to fit in.  This leaves them feeling even worse about themselves, although most in this category would never let on how they really feel.
2) When a person feels threatened, they go into something called, "fight or flight."  This happened during caveman times.  In order to survive, a caveman would have a rush of adrenal chemicals flush his system to tell him to fight the saber-tooth tiger or run from the dinosaur.  Although we don't have the threats of caveman times, we still have the chemical response when we feel threatened.  It's why a child who has extreme trauma is unable to speak until they calm down.  We go into survival mode when our body is flushed with chemicals and panic sets in.  You feel all options are gone, and you must simply react.  I felt this a lot during test-taking when I felt ill-prepared.  Imagine being broken down on the side of a dark, deserted road in an area you don't know.  Panic creeps in as your heart rate accelerates.   Both responses to our environment are human.  We all react to our environment.  It wouldn't be normal for me to slap you, and you not respond with shock, hurt, or anger.  It is human.  However, the root of all the response is fear.  I'm afraid I'll be rejected by being who I want to be.  I'm afraid my values will cause me to be alone, so I'll reject them before I'm rejected.  I'm afraid I'll be attacked, so I'll attack first.  I'm afraid I'll be hurt, so I'll create walls no person will ever get past.  I'll never make a stand for what is right because I'm afraid of how others will react.  The key is fear!  If we allow fear to influence us, we will always be reacting.  I am lousy when I play sports.  My husband will not play tennis with me because I am known to throw a racket at him.  My issue with sports is I'm always reacting to others.  I don't do well with strategy, so I'm always defending myself.  I may not lose badly, but I'll never truly win.  If fear is our influencer, we will never win or change situations.  We will only react to situations.  God said He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and  sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV) God came for all of us regardless of color, culture, or financial class.  We all need a Savior, and we all are promised eternal life and His presence if we ask for it.  Because we are all promised this, we have got to stop reacting and start standing for truth.  God came to unite, not divide.  Stand for your brothers and sisters regardless of color.  No one should live in fear of well-being when they walk a street.  When you see injustice, speak up but do it knowing that God didn't cause us to respond out of fear, but out of love and a sound mind. Make a difference, and let God be your influencer!

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!