And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant (desirable) to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat – Genesis 3:6.

Influence is the power to affect others whether right or wrong. The first influence was Satan influencing Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, then Eve influenced her husband, Adam to eat the forbidden fruit although both of them were instructed by God not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Women are powerful, they have been given the gift to multi-task without getting confused. They can outthink men, they can endure more pain than men, and they can influence people with encouragement, endurance, to do right or to do wrong. This is why it is so important for women to have a relationship with God so that the power of influence they have will not be used to enslave people in bondage of doing the wrong thing.

Rebekah was married to Isaac, they had twin boys Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn, and his father’s favorite. Esau sold his birthrights to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew, later on, Jacob was influenced by his mother to steal the blessings of Esau by pretending he was Esau. Rebekah taught her son to lie, to be dishonest as well as coveting. Although Esau was the oldest and he was going to receive the blessings according to what the Lord had spoken to Rebekah while they were in her womb, Jacob also would have been blessed because God would not have blessed one and disregarded the other. Yes, Esau would have received the biggest portion of the blessings but Jacob also would have been blessed. Sadly, to say the mother was the influence of Jacob’s actions.

Are we influencing our children to lie when we tell them if someone calls that we’re not home? Are we teaching them to dislike people because of their skin tone, financial or educational background? Are we influencing them to reject Biblical principles because we reject and deny them? Are we influencing them that people who profess they are Christians really aren’t Christians because we profess to be Christians and our lifestyles do not characterize what the Bible says Christians should be?

We have the power of influence to empower our children to be respectful, compassionate, loving, educated individuals, as well as influencing ourselves. We can influence ourselves with low-self esteem, depression, can’t be or do what we desire to do or be. God has given us a mind that is powerful, and we can do whatever we decide in our minds to do, we can accomplish it whether it’s good or bad. It’s never too late to accomplish your dreams, decide what you want in life, plan to do whatever it takes to make your dream come true, you can’t think about it or speak about it and don’t work on it! We need to influence our children, not only to be college and university graduates but take the education they have and it places it in their business, not someone else’s, teach them to be self-employed.

The power of influence is great when we use it positively. As women, we can make this world better, first by coming together in unity as women desiring for the world to be a better place for our families and neighbors. Teaching starts in the home, then it spread to the neighborhoods and communities. What is being influenced in the homes is being carried out in neighborhoods and communities. Each family member has their part in making the neighborhood and community better when this occurs cities and states will be better, the violence and discrimination will stop. Everyone has a part to play when it comes to making this world a better place, and if everyone plays their part in making our world a better place for everyone then we will begin to see a change. Stop teaching hatred, discrimination, greed, covetousness, lying, cheating, stealing, robbing. Do self-examinations and treat others the way you want to be treated then will unity come and neighborhoods and communities will be safe and prosperous. Power of influence is what will better the world or destroy it.