Sources of Influence

In Proverbs 9, we read two verses that can challenge us to develop wisdom, which we can apply to the decisions in our lives:
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding...

What we believe - and how deeply we believe it - are expressed through the decisions that we make. We have to be so careful that we allow the Word of God to shape those decisions.  If we evaluate our motivations for our decisions - why we do what we do - it can help reveal to us what is in our hearts and the degree to which we allow the Lord to be in control of our lives.  Our careful attention to the things of God will result in strong obedience to Him.

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We can choose to make the teachings of the Bible the authority for our lives, allowing God to shape
our decisions through His Word by His Spirit. Paul's understanding of and reliance on the authority of God is expressed in 1st Corinthians 15, which says:
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

When we consider our motivation for doing the things we do, it's important that we identify that Scripture is an important component.   There is another Barna Group election report that has explored what influences people to vote a certain way.

The survey asked voters to weigh in on ten different sources of influence concerning their vote. The survey actually found that out of the ten sources, none of them were found to have “a lot of influence” on who people will support for President by as much as one out of every five respondents. The top-rated sources: a person's religious beliefs (18% said they had a "lot of influence”) and family members, at 10%. The other eight sources fell between five and eight percent.

Other sources included the news media, friends, advertising, and political commentators.

Furthermore, when you combine the sources identified to have "a lot" and "some" influence on voters, religious beliefs win the day again, with 33% citing that source.  Family members and news media each garnered 28 percent, then friends and television political commentators, chosen by 26% of those surveyed.

The last-place influencer in this combined number - pastors, at 14%.

Among evangelicals, 75% said religious beliefs were their most important factor in their Presidential vote.  They placed a higher value on pastors, with 22% saying that they had "a lot" or "some" influence.  Family members followed close behind, at 21%.

Among non-evangelical, born-again Christians, 30% said religious beliefs were their most important factor.

According to the summary of the survey, special analyst for the survey, George Barna, the founder of the Barna Group, who sold it back in 2009, made these comments:

"The fact that a majority of adults believe that campaign advertising and political analysts have no effect on their thinking, and that only six out of ten adults think the news media influence their political thinking at all, is an indication of how little we ponder the inputs that affect our thoughts and perceptions, either directly or indirectly.”

He went on to comment on the church's role in influencing how people vote:

“There is great potential for churches and pastors to impact voting decisions. In fact, one out of every four Americans say they trust their church or pastor to exert a lot of influence on their political choices. What a tremendous opportunity for churches to position themselves as relevant to people’s life choices while taking advantage of an available opportunity to influence people’s lives. Our research reveals that most pastors have chosen to not speak to their congregants about the issues or the candidates involved in this year’s election, which might explain the low-ranked influence of pastors in this study. But if more pastors were willing to teach their congregants how to think biblically about political issues, matters of governance, and candidate selection, the election campaign might have been dramatically altered.”

Some takeaways from this survey:  For one thing, we do see that personal faith is a factor in determining voting decisions.  News media is also significant, with 6-in-10 people saying that it is an influence.  And, this may illustrate somewhat of a tug-of-war generally in society.  We may think that our faith is a determinant in our decisions, but because the media is so pervasive, it can also shape us.  If the media becomes too much of an influence, it could override or corrupt our Biblical thinking.  We have to adhere to a Bible-centered view of cultural issues, not a Bible-plus view that can lead to some conclusions that are not Scriptural.

In a general sense, it's helpful to think about and evaluate why we do what we do.  Is the Bible the predominant influence for our decision-making?  Is it the absolute authority in our lives?  We must avoid the smorgasbord mentality that can lead someone to develop unbiblical convictions, even though he or she may claim to be a person of faith.   If we attend church or perhaps participate in various activities or even sacraments, but do not allow the Word to govern our decisions, that illustrates a huge disconnect, even a compartmentalization of our "faith" area from other areas of influence.