THE POWER OF INFLUENCE

The story is told in Daniel 3 of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who withstood King Nebuchadnezzar by refusing to bow to the idol he had made. The three Hebrew boys were part of the contingent of Israelite slaves taken to Babylon after their country had been attacked, overrun and sacked. Nebuchadnezzar had made a statue and he had made a proclamation that at the sound of the music instruments, everyone was to bow to the statue. However, out of the multitude of people who bowed, including their fellow countrymen, they alone refused to bow. We all know the story and what happened next.

I have recently been thinking about the influence and the things that cause us to do the things we do. This has become quite relevant to me in light of the outraged voices following from Miley Cyrus act at the MTV Video Music Awards. I have earlier said while I do not condone the performance or think it was right, I do believe if had been Lady Gaga or Madonna, there wouldn’t have been that much of a reaction http://herstheword.blogspot.com/2013/08/while-men-slept-culture-came-in-unawares.html. I said that people were probably reacting to fact that they could still remember her as Hannah Montana and the picture she was projecting via her performance was incongruent with that of Hannah Montana, hence the outrage. Personally, I think she’s trying too hard to shed her good little girl image so that people will see her as an adult.

However the most important thing for me is not what she did but why she did what she did. A lot has been made about the power of influence. Miley Cyrus wants to sell plenty of albums and make a lot of money while at it. She obviously wants fame and all the accoutrements that come with being rich and famous. She has also constantly been told that sex sells and she sees it in ice cream and car adverts. But that then raises other questions. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus is a famous and rich musician; did he have to do all that? She could argue that the requirements for succeeding as a country musician and as a hip-hop artiste are quite different. She could also argue that things are much different for men and women. While I could point her in the direction of Adele as a female musician who has succeeded without having to go in the sex-selling direction, I think the problem is more than that.

Reading Daniel 3, you get the impression that there was a vast number of people gathered before the statue, either in their hundreds of thousands, probably millions. People don’t need to speak to influence others. They can influence by their actions. Hundreds of thousands of people, probably millions, all bowing to a statue is a powerful influence. A lot of people were bowing because there was a law in place but the majority was bowing probably because they were afraid for their lives. Seeing a sea of people bowing to a statue, no matter how stupid it may seem, is a powerful influence.

When a child is born, he comes without any preconceived notions or ideas about anything. However, the words, actions, opinions and thoughts of family, friends and loved ones shape what one believes and the values that guide your life. However, I believe that there comes a point when that child or adult becomes autonomous. By that, I mean that there comes a point at which influences that person comes in contact with are not accepted at face value anymore. The influences are measured against some internal system which decides whether or not to accept the influence. The three Hebrew boys had grown up being taught that there was only one God and his name was Jehovah and he was the only one they were obliged to bow down to and worship. Therefore when Nebuchadnezzar came along asking them to bow to the statue he had made, something in them compared what he was saying to what they believed and rejected it. Something in them refused to accept not only what Nebuchadnezzar was saying but what their eyes saw. I remember once leaving school with some friends. There were ten of us and at some point, eight people stopped to buy cigarettes. Something in me wanted to join them so that I could be one of the boys. However by then I knew cigarettes were addictive and that they could cause cancer and a cigarette wasn’t something I wanted to get enslaved to.

A lot is made of peer pressure and the power of influence. However I believe the greatest influence as to whether to accept or reject influence is the strength of the inner man, our spirit. The world is full of influences, some blatant and other insidious. I however do not believe we are helpless puppets who have no choice in the matter. I believe the power of influence lies in the power we give to it. Daniel served as prime minister to about four different kings of Babylon yet the culture of the age could not change him. The Bible says he had an excellent spirit. The Bible in Romans 12 asks us not to be conformed to the pattern and ways of this world but to renew our mind. Every battle is won or lost in the mind. The Bible constantly asks that we build our minds and strengthen our inner man by the word. That is the only thing, along with the Holy Spirit, that can keep us from caving under the cares and pressures and influences of the world we live in.


Update P. S. Just saw this http://video.foxnews.com/v/2659425980001/

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO, a thriller about politics and the persecution of Christians. The novel is published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. The book is available here http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-194087/deceptio.aspx. He is also the author of LOST, BUT FOUND, a story of love, loss and redemption available here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00dPLLEUQ            

While Men Slept, Culture Came In Unawares

The whole Miley Cyrus thing has got me thinking about the insidious nature of culture. The whole country seems to be disturbed by the whole dancing and tongue thing. I think the problem is that people are not comfortable with the 20 year old singer trying to act more grown up than she is. The question I would ask is, would people complain if it was Lady Gaga? I doubt. I saw the outfit Lady Gaga wore to the event and it worse than anything Miley wore. So what then did Miley do wrong? I think her problem was that people thought she was too young to do what she was doing. Also, her Disney and Hannah Montana connections didn't help. If it was Madonna, would people find it acceptable.

Before you get uppity, I'm not saying what she did was right. I think it was outrageous. But my problem is that quite a lot of people having been complaining about Miley Cyrus before the VMA’s and nobody took notice. For me, that is the insidious nature of culture. Culture creeps up on us insidiously until something that was previously unacceptable becomes of no issue because we no longer think it matters. Not only does a previously unacceptable behavior become acceptable, it drags along its nasty cousins who are similar to it and we don’t notice anything wrong till it’s too late.

The recent rage is to take nude pictures in the name of art. In years past, posing naked was exclusively reserved for models. Now film stars, musicians, athletes and anyone wanting to get famous and make money while at it are all jumping on the bandwagon. The funny thing is that even those who claim that they are doing it for a “good cause” like PETA all get paid. Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery. Therefore he didn't need to actually need to sleep with the object of his lust to commit adultery. If I were to extrapolate that, I would say that you don’t have to stand on the side of the road to be considered a woman (or man) who has sex or sleeps around for monetary gain.

Agnieszka Radwanska, a polish tennis player who says she’s a devout Catholic couldn't understand the outrage that greeted the nude photo shoot she did for ESPN magazine. She had been named a patron of a youth group in the Catholic Church in her native but was subsequently dropped after the pictures came out. According to her, there was nothing wrong with the picture as she wasn't really showing anything that should make her feel ashamed. The question I asked myself was, what if that happened in America or some other Western country? What if someone who professed faith in Jesus as an evangelical Christian decided to pose nude? Would there be some form of outrage on the part of Christians? Would she (or he) defend it as an expression of his or her faith in Jesus? Would liberal people take his or side and say it’s freedom of expression? Would they say it was just another way in which Christianity seeks to oppress women and keep them down? Would other Christians come out and tell those outraged that it was the poser’s body and that he or she could do whatever they liked? They might even argue that the naked picture glorified Christ. After all was said and done, would those who were initially outraged, feel cowed and back down? In today’s 21^st century Christianity, anything is possible.    


JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO, a political thriller about the persecution of Christians. DECEPTIO is published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. DECEPTIO is available here http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-194087/deceptio.aspx. He is also the author of LOST, BUT FOUND, a story about rejection, love and redemption. The book is available here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/