Influence can be subtle. Two people might do the same thing or say the same words and yet exert very different influences. Don’t be blinded by outward appearances. Your inner impressions are a more accurate gauge of genuineness.
Suppose your own character is somewhat less attractive than you’d like. Maybe you’re afflicted by such a bad temper that you constantly feel obliged to over compensate. The dilemma then arises: you can either continue to go through this charade your whole life; or you can decide to be true to yourself.
If you manufacture a mask of friendship to conceal your irritability, you may affect a cheesy grin, a smoothness of tone, a blandness of vocabulary, a careful control of body language – all ruses to transform your overt hostility into covert hostility! Cool on the outside; raging hot within! What a wearying way to spend the day!
Personal influence radiates from the real person; whereas an unreal persona exercises personal manipulation. Personality-disguises are inauthentic, disingenuous, and self-defeating. Even the best orator will be unconvincing if he does not believe his own message. Yet an unskilled speaker can have the audience hanging on his every word – as long as the meaning carries weight. Authenticity makes the difference.
The mechanistic perfectionist may be admired at the beginning; but it’s the sound of the authentic soul that will please the listener’s ear longest. Words that come straight from your heart speak straight to the hearts of others. So it’s useless to preach unless YOU are the sermon.Your words will ring hollow unless you are seen and felt to live their meaning.
The Biblical Pharisee is one group example who lays down the law enthusiastically, but practices none of the spirit. The modern Pharisee fails to “walk the talk.”
If we want to have positive influence in the world, we have to be good people on behalf of the world. And since every individual is part of the world, we must be good to every individual we meet – otherwise our influence will not spread in the ways that we wish.
