The Power of Influence

Charles Darwin was not the first evolutionist! There were many prominent evolutionists who came
before him. Starting in the late 1700's, there were significant evolutionary writers who influenced Charles
Darwin. The list of these men includes James Hutton, Lamarck, Malthus, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, M.D.
(grandfather of Charles), Sir Charles Lyell and Alfred Russel Wallace. Each of them had a profound effect
on the public acceptance of evolutionary theory in the early to mid-1800's.

In order to understand the role of Charles Darwin in the scheme that would ultimately catapult him to
prominence, we must first analyze his character starting from his childhood. There is an excellent (pro-
Darwin, but honest) biography of Charles Darwin written by Desmond and Moore, 1991. In Darwin they
quote these remembrances of his youth. "Inventing deliberate falsehoods became a regular method of
seeking the spotlight . . . He would still do anything at school 'for the pure pleasure of exciting attention
and surprise,' and his cultivated 'lies . . . gave [him] pleasure, like a tragedy.' He told tall tales about
natural history, reported strange birds, and boasted of being able to change the colour of flowers. Once he
invented an elaborate story designed to show how fond he was of telling the truth. It was a boy's way of
manipulating the world."

As Darwin grew older he did not improve his character. Desmond and Moore wrote this about his adult
life. "He craved recognition from his fellow geologists - approval shored up his respectability - and it
drove him to finish the [HMS] Beagle reports." It was also the threat that Alfred Russel Wallace was about
to publish basically the same concept as Darwin that rapidly drove him to publish his book The Origin of
Species, in 1859.

Perhaps Darwin is best understood if you realize that what he accomplished was not the origination of
the Theory of Evolution. His permanence came from his grasping the mood of the people in England. The
great successes of the Industrial Revolution had led people to embrace materialism. The burgeoning
middle class that had barely existed only a few decades earlier, was busy convincing itself that it could
pull itself up by its own bootstraps. These people were looking for an excuse that would prove that they
were the captains of their own ships, the savior of their own souls.

Darwin gave these people what they wanted. He made the concept that there is no god popular and gave
the people a way to make this philosophy credible. If there is no god, then all things are permissible. If
there is no god, then there are no consequences. If there is no greater authority than yourself, then the
rules of survival of the fittest are in effect; and, you may succeed at the cost of the life and limbs of others. 

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. To the one we are the savour of death
unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? Romans 14:7; 2 Corinthians 2:16

In a general sense, influence denotes power whose operation is invisible and known only by its effects, or
a power whose cause and operation are unseen.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 133 :Every act of our lives affects others for good or evil. Our
influence is tending upward or downward; it is felt, acted upon, and to a greater or less degree
reproduced by others. If by our example we aid others in the development of good principles, we
give them power to do good. In their turn they exert the same beneficial influence upon others,
and thus hundreds and thousands are affected by our unconscious influence.

Children who see physical violence between their parents are six times more likely to abuse their own
spouses after they marry. If those children were also hit by their parents as teenagers, they are 12 times
more likely to abuse their spouses.

Homemade, November, 1985

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 111: The influence of every man's thoughts and
actions surrounds him like an invisible atmosphere, which is unconsciously breathed in by all who
come in contact with him.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 60 : The ambassadors of Christ have a responsible and sacred
work before them. They are savors of life unto life, or death unto death. Their influence decides
the destiny of souls for whom Christ died.

What a man is has greater influence than what he says. The quiet, consistent, godly life is a living epistle,
known and read of all men. One of the most effective ways of winning souls to Him is in exemplifying His
character in our daily life. Our influence upon others depends not so much upon what we say as upon
what we are. Men may combat and defy our logic, they may resist our appeals; but a life of disinterested
love is an argument they cannot gainsay. A consistent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a
power in the world. 

It is said of Fenelon that his communion with God was such that his face shone. Lord Peterborough, a
skeptic, was once compelled to spend a night with him at an inn. In the morning he hurried away saying,
"If I spend another night with that man, I shall be a Christian in spite of myself."  Fenelon's manner, voice,
and face reflected so perfectly the glory of Christ that he was irresistibly attractive to even the worldliest
men and women.—Earnest Worker.

1 Peter 2:11-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

11 
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which
wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they
speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation.

Of Daniel it is said in Daniel Chapter 6:1-5

6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole
kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps
should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished
above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king
planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find
a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground
for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then
these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in
connection with the law of his God.”

Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 383, 384

Our profession may be as high as heaven, but it will save neither ourselves nor our fellow
men unless we are Christians. A right example will do more to benefit the world than all our
profession.…
Acts 4:13-21English Standard Version (ESV)
13 
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated,
common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But
seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But
when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one
another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed
through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order
that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in
this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of
Jesus.19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you
rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and
heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish
them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

Your Influence for good must be so strong that the people will not find any fault in you. It must leave
people at a point when they direct their fight against your God not against you, because you will be so
much hidden in God that when they look at you they don’t see you but they see God. And when they see
God they then choose whether to follow that God or to fight that God. The battle is not yours, it is God’s. So
if you find yourself fighting for God then stop and ask yourself whether what you are doing is Godly,
because if it is Godly then it is God who will do the fighting. All you have to do in this great battle is to be
an Ambassador, a representative of Heaven. You must exert an influence that will make your God
attractive to the people. An American ambassador in Zimbabwe does not fight American wars on behalf of
America. When Zimbabweans engages him, he contacts America and America will send an Army to fight
battles. It will never send an Ambassador to fight a battle.

Let your Influence for good leave people wanting more of Jesus than of you

Mount of Blessing, p. 128: You must be good before you can do good. You cannot exert an influence
that will transform others until your own heart has been humbled and refined and made
tender by the grace of Christ. When this change has been wrought in you, it will be as natural for
you to live to bless others as it is for the rosebush to yield its fragrant bloom or the vine its purple
clusters.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 556: There are few who realize how far-reaching is the influence of
their words and acts.… Everyone is exerting an influence upon others, and will be held
accountable for the result of that influence. Words and actions have a telling power, and the long
hereafter will show the effect of our life here. The impression made by our words and deeds will
surely react upon ourselves in blessing or in cursing. This thought gives an awful solemnity to life,
and should draw us to God in humble prayer that He will guide us by His wisdom.

Every man's work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness.
Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word,
every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every artful dissembling.
Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected, wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the
influence exerted for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the
recording angel.

A man once dreamed that he was in hell. When asked to give an account of what he had seen—if there
were flames there, and suffering there, and wrecked and malign creatures with whom he had to associate,
and if the place resounded with oaths of blasphemy—he said, "Yes, but there was something far worse
than that: I was compelled to face my influence. I knew that I deserved punishment, for I had scorned and
rejected Jesus Christ; but my sorest pain was to see what the effect of my life had been upon others."