Use Your Influence Wisely, Graduates

Years ago, a wealthy British family had a son who was drowning in a swimming pool. The gardener’s son jumped in and saved the boy’s life. In gratitude, the family sent the boy to a school where he decided to study medicine. Years later when Winston Churchill was sick with pneumonia, the king of England had the best doctor sent to care for the prime minister. Churchill would later say, “It is rare that one man owes his life twice to the same rescuer.”

We are in the season of graduations. High school students are preparing for college. College students are preparing for careers. This can be a very exciting time in the life of a young person. I don’t remember much about my graduation other than I was glad to be graduating. It is interesting how commencement speakers motivate graduating seniors to reach for the stars, keep on keeping on, and never give up when in reality they don’t have a clue. For years, graduating seniors have been living one day from the next. Now all of a sudden, they must start thinking about 401k’s and 529 College Savings Plans for their own children. Now their minds must shift from day to day thinking to long-term career focus.

I remember coming back from my graduation trip, staring out the window of my friend’s truck and thinking, “Now what?” At that point in my life, I wasn’t much for planning. All of a sudden, the reality hit me that if I am going to become something in my life, then I am going to have to do it myself. No one was going to do it for me. One of the lessons I learned is that we don’t have to learn to influence people. The choice is not whether we influence others, but how we influence them. Influence is not something we turn on or off at will. It goes on all the time. At home with our families, our neighbors in the community, friends at school, or co-workers in business we are sharing influence. Everyone counts for something. Good or bad. Great or small. Even after we are gone, we keep counting for something.

John Wesley, founder of Methodism, wrote a letter of encouragement to a fellow named George. George was leaving England to evangelize the new frontier. Wesley wrote:

“Dear George, the time has come for you to embark for America. I let you loose, George, on that great continent of America. Publish your message in the open face of the sun and do all the good that you can.”

The time has come to “let loose” all our graduates. My prayer is that they will use their influence to do all the good they can.

What advice would you give to graduates?