Here are the first quotes that have stood out to me so far from Chapter 4 of Chasing Daylight from Erwin McManus. The chapter is titles “Influence.”
- Manipulation is the use of influence to control others for personal gain. It is the dark side of influence. Manipulation could be described as a relational lie. It is not merely deception in language, but the corruption of trust.
- While manipulation is inherently evil, influence is the best way to lead and move others toward what is good.
- A life touched by God always ends in touching others.
- We have lost confidence in the power of influence, and because of that, we have lost the beauty of its art. The problem with potential power is that while it may control the actions of another human being, it does not capture the heart.
Just being straight up…this chapter has stood out to me so far because I have been in a church environment where the pastor was a master manipulator. I have seen where his manipulation has severely wounded and damaged people, some to the point of no return. I see a pattern in scripture where God was disgusted and angered by the priest in the Old Testament and the Pharisees and Sadducees in the New Testament because they led people away from the love of God versus towards it. Jesus said in Matthew 23 that the Pharisees would travel land and sea to make one convert, only to turn them into twice the sons of hell as they were.
I saw this pastor use his influence to manipulate the sale of a church and its property that people invested years of their life and in some cases “hundreds” of thousands of dollars to see a deceptive vision come to pass. All for nothing, there was no reason for anything that took place. I’ve forgiven this man, but it does not diminish the damage and the hurt caused by the power of manipulation. Erwin is correct…it is the “Dark Side” of influence. My only prayer is that God extends the same amount of mercy and grace in my life as I need it as he has this man. My true prayer is that I live for God in such a way that I never need that much.
Nicki and I were talking the other day about men who have used their influence in the same manner. I told Nicki that if I had as much influence as these people had, I would truly use it to change the world, not to meet a personal agenda. That is my honest desire. I believe the key is when Erwin said, “A life touched by God always ends in touching others!” What do you want to use your influence to do?
