Are intergenerational friendships something you value and seek out? I love having same-age-and-stage people in my life because these are the people who understand experientially what I’m going through in any given season. But more and more, I’ve found that being in relationship with people decades older and younger brings an important perspective and dimension that wouldn’t exist if all my friendships looked just like me.
Wisdom might change that old familiar refrain to, “Keep young friends, and have some old, one is silver and the other gold.”
Recently in visits with 20-somethings, our conversations turned to social media. Never do I feel more like a dinosaur than when a young friend raves about who she follows on TikTok. An old-school blogger, I began writing online when Facebook was a toddler, Twitter was an infant, and before Instagram was a sparkle in its developer’s eyes. Back then, blogging simply scratched a long-dormant creative itch for many of us, and no one was doing it for money. Introductions were made through recommendations by your new-found blogging friends, not through sponsored posts that targeted your demographic. Or, maybe, you discovered your next favorite writer through a link-up where dozens, or even hundreds, of bloggers wrote along a common theme linked to a host site. Everyone connected through robust comment threads.
It was all so organic and lovely.
When I started blogging, hard copies of newspapers were still being delivered to your door. We got news, weather, and sports updates from nightly six or eleven o’clock broadcasts, and we trusted our news anchors. People were reporting what happened, not making up what didn’t.
Good gravy, my head gets spinny thinking about all the changes I’ve seen in the past 20 years. I can only imagine how dizzy my older friends must be with all the changes they’ve witnessed!
Not surprisingly, the impact of influencers comes up in social media conversations. M-W.com defines an influencer as a person who inspires or guides the actions of others; a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.
What didn’t exist not so long ago is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Top influencers are paid barrels of money to tell us what to do, think, and buy. They earn a lot of money because they deliver. According to an April 2024 article on Sprout Social, “49% of all consumers make daily, weekly, or monthly purchases because of influencer posts, with 30% trusting influencers more today than they did just six months ago.” That’s staggering, isn’t it?
There are plenty of finger-wagging bunny trails we could hop along, but I’m not here to cast aspersions at influencers. I’m thankful for the people who know more about the topics I’m interested in than I do. Some have taught me something new while others share recipes, fashion pointers, or beauty tips. My favorites challenge me to think differently, critically, and more carefully, especially while pointing me to Jesus. And I’m grateful for the people who bring a little levity into all our lives, lightening the sometimes heavy loads we carry. Kittens riding skateboards? Please and thank you!
The reality is you don’t have to have thousands of followers on your favorite social media platform to be an influencer; in fact, you don’t have to be on social media at all. If an influencer is simply a person who inspires or guides the actions of others, has it occurred to you, sweet sister, that you are an influencer?
Given that you are an influencer in some shape or form, the next question to consider is: How are you stewarding this relational superpower?
Within our homes, workplaces, and houses of worship, we are inspiring and guiding the actions of others. In ordinary ways, we have the potential to uplift and encourage friends, train children, lead colleagues, and impact strangers. Passing along something we’ve learned, sharing a bargain, or helping someone who’s experiencing a heartache you have in common are ways we influence the people around us every day.
Just as we influence others, we are constantly being influenced by whatever fills our world, our time, and our minds. Are we settling for earthly trinkets when eternal treasures could be ours? Can you imagine how different your life would be if Jesus was the dominant influencer in your life?
Maybe you can honestly say He is, but if not, what would need to change? What might need to shift for Jesus to become your greatest influencer? This isn’t a question about your salvation or a requirement to do something to earn God’s love. Rather, remembering our earlier definition, when Jesus is the primary influencer in our lives, our words and actions would be naturally focused on generating interest in Him.
God has made us for the magnificent purpose of bringing Him glory. You and I are unique masterpieces created in His image. Never do we look more like Jesus than when we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
May we live each day to reflect, promote, and point others to His goodness.
Amen, Robin! The ole saying “You may be the only Bible others ever read!” describes our responsibility of influencing others toward Christ. Sooo thankful it His Holy Spirit in me/us & not me on my own! We all need an Elizabeth in our lives challenging us/showing us the way & to be an Elizabeth to another woman. Blessings (((0)))
Ruth,
Yes! What if we listened to the Holy Spirit in every encounter with other people? Our world would have to be different, wouldn’t it?? #goals
Dear Robin…….I very, very interesting devotional today. I love it and I will tell you why. I am a retired 77 year old woman. My job for 45 years was at the management level in Customer Service. Believe me, I did not start there. My Holy Spirit guided me to start at the ” so called” bottom and work your way up. I did just that. I certainly am not disparaging people that clean houses as their jobs, but that is where I started. I am a college graduate, but I thought at the beginning that it wasn’t what I really wanted. I wanted to be a middle management employee in an area where I could help solve problems and talk to many different people to help those that were younger and confused. One thing is important. I remember my whole life and what occurred so I can say with truth that Jesus and my Holy Spirit guided me through every job. I learned things from each job that a had, important ideas that could lead me to my ” Dream Job “. I will say that as I was only 22 years old when I started, I realized quickly that you can’t just step into that kind of job. Many much younger people than I think, just go to college, get a job at the top with the most money. That does not work or if they get the job, they eventually as they get older that this was not exactly what I was thinking of. I am an influencer, but in a very good way. I LISTEN to everyone who still come to me to tell me their problems or answer a question. You have to gain confidence in order to be able to be gentle with what you say to people and think of “What if I were in their situation? What would I do now at my age and my many years of experience? ” If it is a situation for that person that you might know they are headed in the wrong direction, you have to know how to tell them in a very nice and encouraging way what you would do. You women in this ( in ) courage group are much younger than I and already have so much wisdom that I take on for myself. I love to read these and read my Bible. Certainly, Jesus and my Holy Spirit have helped me along the whole way, but one interesting thing in my journey is the job I took after I stopped cleaning houses as I needed more money for my family. I had 1 very small child and my husband was a teacher which back then, you were not paid too much. We were lucky to have $5.00 left at the end of the month for entertainment. When social media came. I got on, but dropped off quickly as I was scammed for $30,000. You really have to be careful as these people do focus on we older people. Getting back to my second job, I ended up being a Payroll Supervisor for 300 Truck Drivers. It was my first eye-opening experience as the first call I received was a driver who was very angry and every other word started with F***. I put him on hold and thought for a minute. I need to do this right. So, I got back on the phone and every other word I said to him was the actual F word and I told him if he did not stop cursing at me I was not going to help him. His attitude changed immediately . I told him I would check on his problem and fix it and if it was an error that we made here, I was so sorry and I said, I know how important paychecks are so if you need money I will tell the Dispatchers to give you an emergency advance. WOW!! The funny part of this is truck drivers meet at truck stops and talk and this gentleman got the word around that if you get Betsy on the phone, be nice and she will do anything she can to fix the problem. After that, never got one cursing call. Sorry for rambling. This may not sound like a big deal, but it taught me much about handling and being generous and feeling myself how I would feel. I still follow Jesus and listen to my Holy Spirit and pray a lot as I myself am going through a very difficult situation that after 16 months is still not settled. My problem is patience and I know God works in his Timeline, so when I get emotional and angry (not at God but at myself for just being more patient) He has my problem and just last week something happened that showed me that He was moving this problem along. Hurrah!! It still needs more movement, but I got His sign and I know if I can wait a little longer, it will be solved. I praised the Lord and thanked him for helping me and giving me a “sign”. I did finally get that “Dream Job ” and I won the highest award an employee could win at this huge company based in Chicago. It wasn’t your higher up Manager that sent HO a letter. 25 of my former or current people who reported to me wrote letter about how great it was or is working with me. I was shocked and the day they announced it, I cried. So, as you can see, wisdom can come from anywhere if we pay attention and remember things at all of our jobs or experiences. Thank you so much Robin as I have never seen yet anyone that has posted something that a could totally relate to. Love, prayers and if you don’t mind, a hug to you and my apologies for this long message……..Betsy Basile
Betsy!!!
First, no man, no apologies for telling your story! We love hearing stories at incourage just as much as telling our own. Yours is a gift :).
Second, “wisdom can come from anywhere if we pay attention” <-- Now THAT'S wisdom! Yes, it can come from anywhere, but boy, howdy, we better be paying attention :). And, last... sending you a virtual hug right back. If you can "totally relate" to what I've written here, that's no doubt the Holy Spirit working in our midst. <3
Robin,
I appreciate your words of wisdom
Sending you some joy, Lisa Wilt
Robin,
I never thought about being an influencer. Just lived by the old adage “actions speak louder than words”. Try to live out that saying daily. At work (hospital unit secretary) I tell patients “you’ve got this” or “I’ll pray for you”. You will find me cheering/ encouraging the patients when they sit in a chair or get to walk the hall. My way of spreading some of God’s light, love & some sunshine. Most Fridays I volunteer at Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry helping the helpless & sharing God’s love.
I guess you could call me an influencer in that my actions are always Godly.
Blessings 🙂