Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 23, 2012): Genesis 24
One of the perennial questions that we struggle with deals with question
of who influences who. I think we all want to be people of influence. It seems to
be a trait that is buried deep in our core. When we speak, we hope that people
will listen to our words and consider what it is that we have to say. But, we
also know that the reverse is often true. Sometimes we are the ones who are
influenced. And sometimes that is because we want to be influenced. It is the
reason why we ask questions – we want a deeper understanding of something. And
the invitation is for those that have either knowledge or an opinion to weigh
in on the discussion. The opinion is important enough for us to ask the
question, so we are waiting and open to the influence of others who are willing
to make the argument. But, sometimes, influence is not wanted, but the words
wash over us violently anyways and change us in the process. But maybe the most
dangerous kind of influence is the influence that we don’t even realize is
happening. And slowly our opinions begin to change as we bend to the wind of
opinion.
One of the factors of influence is simply the deepness of relationship.
The deeper the relationship and the more we are attracted by the character of
the person, the more likely we are to be influenced. And that influence can
slowly carry us away even from our core values.
There is an old Mexican saying “la casa no se
reclina sobre la tierra, sino sobre una mujer” – “The house
does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman.” It seemed that, maybe,
Abraham had heard a similar saying . As he watched the Canaanite lifestyle
deteriorate into evil, he knew that he needed to find a wife for Isaac from
among another culture. After all, the house of Isaac would rest on her and,
while he would influence her, she would also influence him. And the last thing
he wanted for his son was that his life would decline into evil in the same way
as his neighbours lives had.
And it is one of the reasons why we still want our children to seriously
consider the character of the people that they draw into their inner circle of
friends. It isn’t that we want to limit their influence, but we recognize that they
are vulnerable to be influenced by the people that they respect. Or maybe, it
is because we recognize with Abraham that Jason Gideon (character on the Criminal
Minds – TV Show) was right – “In my experience, evil is not a cultural
phenomenon; it is a human one.” And if influenced negatively, evil is something
of which we are all vulnerable.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Genesis 25
No comments:
Post a Comment