Godly Influence

Some folks walk into a room and the whole place smells like Jesus: full of grace, kindness, peace, and then there’s the other kind: the Jezebel‑level influencers who can sour the air faster than a skunk at a picnic. That’s why the Bible (I Kings 21:25-26) gives us this doozy about Ahab: “No one else sold himself to evil like Ahab did because Jezebel stirred him up.” In Southern terms? That boy didn’t just fall off the wagon. Jezebel was the one drivin’ it.

Jezebel wasn’t just a bad influence; she was a full‑blown spiritual tornado in eyeliner. Ahab didn’t stand a chance. Scripture says she incited him, urged him, stirred him up, basically poked him with a stick until he galloped straight into wickedness. Bless his heart, he was a weak king, but he sure picked the wrong woman to listen to.

And before we laugh too hard at Ahab, we might wanna check our own front porch because everybody, and I mean everybody, is an influencer.

• Parents influence kids.

• Friends influence friends.

• Church folks influence church folks.

• Even quiet people influence by what they don’t say.

Your words, your habits, your attitude, your Facebook posts, your Sunday smile, your Monday mood, they’re all rubbin’ off on somebody. You’re either stirrin’ folks toward Jesus or stirrin’ ’em toward trouble.

In John 13, Jesus showed us how it’s done. He didn’t just preach. He washed feet, hugged lepers, fed crowds, and lived so full of love that Peter and John, two fishermen who smelled like fish bait, ended up preachin’ with such boldness that the religious leaders said, “Well, mercy, these fellas have been with Jesus.”

That’s the kind of influence that changes the world.

So, ask yourself:
Are you smellin’ like Jesus or Jezebel?
Are you liftin’ folks up or stirrin’ ’em sideways?
Are you pointin’ people to the cross or to chaos?                                   

What “radar waves” is your body language sending out to others?

Lord, help me be the kind of influence that smells like heaven, not Jezebel’s perfume of destruction. Keep me from turning anybody toward sin. Make my life a blessing, my words life‑giving, and my presence a porch‑light that leads folks straight to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now go on, friend. Step right out there today oozin’ grace. The world’s nose is wide open for a fragrant whiff, and its antenna is raised high to catch your influential radar waves.

With joy,

Gwen