Influence

In His Name Devotionals
INFLUENCE

“You are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill can not be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)

Gymnastics is a sport with a complex scoring system based on risk, danger, possibility of injury, originality, and virtuosity. Other sports carry some risk, but no other rewards it with points.

In college, men’s gymnastics competes in 6 events, one of which is the ‘high bar’ or ‘horizontal bar.” Movements on this apparatus consist of giant circular motions held by the hands in a variety of positions, intricate hand changes, releases above and below the bar, and a dismount. Remember “risk!”

During a certain meet one of our best team members, Marty, opened with a move that consisted of a half swing backward with a flip in pike position at bar level requiring a hand release and re-grasp. He missed, falling from about 8 feet onto the back of his neck. He lay motionless and made a sound 1/2 horror, 1/2 cry for help. One could never forget that sound. Time stood still. Everyone’s eyes, competitor and audience alike, were on Marty. Everything else that happened that night is a blur. The paramedics arrived quickly and Marty was taken with great care to the nearest hospital. He was in good hands, but there was a meet, a competition, to complete. Uncertainty had become an unwelcomed guest.

The next competitor on the bar took his place and began his routine. In the middle of a simple swing he lost his grip and went flying across the floor. Shaken, but uninjured, he completed his routine. The next man up also lost his grip and hit hard. Every competitor after Marty came off the bar, again and again—five or six times. A cloud of doubt and uncertainty hung over that event that night, unlike anything anyone had ever experienced. Prior to Marty’s fall no one had even faltered. Never before, nor since, have anyone at the college seen the impact of one man’s mistake burden so many. Risk loomed large. Mental?—you bet! A knife would have cut the atmosphere. What a scene of struggle, as each young man stepped to the bar confronting his own fear and resisting the powerful mental image of a fall!

All of this serves to remind us of the importance of what we see in others, and more importantly, what others see in us. We call it influence. Influence can be for good or for bad. It’s up to us. When thinking of the importance of influence, Marty always comes up. By the way, after the meet he was up and walking—a very lucky young man—a mighty lesson on influence.