An older siblings influence on a younger sibling is great. As I have been watching my 21month old daughter, Hadassah, copy her 3 year old brother, Hudson, I have been amazed by his influence on her. She literally tries to do everything he does and copies almost everything he says. This can be so cute when he is being sweet and she is following suite but when he is yelling “papa poop” or choosing to not listen when I ask him to stop running in and out of the house it is far from cute. As Hudson was getting ready for bed tonight I was trying to explain to him how much Hadassah copies him and wants to be like him. I don’t think Hudson really understood what I was saying and if I am honest with myself I am not sure that even if he did it would make him want to be on his best behavior. Let’s face it he is a sinner like the rest of us and even if he knows his influence on his little sister is great he will still choose to make bad choices for his selfish gain.
This has me wondering about my influence on others. Sure I don’t have a little sister who is learning the ways of the world, following me around all day copying everything I am doing. The truth is we are all influencing. So what about me? Am I thinking about the example I am setting for those who are watching my life? Am I trying to be on my best behavior, realizing that others are watching? These are good questions for us to consider. As parents we know our children are watching us and copying us but our influence is even greater than just our children. We have spouses, extended family, co-workers, friends, hopefully younger believers we are investing our lives in, neighbors, and the list goes on. Are we taking time to consider the influence we are having on others? Is it one that leads them to worship our Savior God? If not then we might want to spend some more time with Jesus, letting him transform us. Though Hudson does not get it yet, the point of our lives is to bring glory to God and one of the primary ways we do this is by the way we live.
