Who is Pulling the Strings? Part 2
Influence: the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.
Manipulation: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one’s own advantage.
Influence is a great gift. Some people are naturally blessed with a magnetic personality, for others, it takes a long process of building trust and relationship. Some leaders don’t even have to say a word, and people will instinctively react to what that person wants and carry out that unspoken command. As much of a mad-man Hitler was, he influenced a whole country to believe that Germans were genetically greater than any other race or person. His influence brought nearly an entire planet to war and the after-shocks of his hatred for the Jews still resides in many corners of the world. This type of influence is a perfect example of influence being demonically inspired. Jim Jones had a demonically inspired influence that caused people to drink the poisoned kool-aid without a thought of the fact that “gee, this stuff tastes weird!”
Influence can be a lot more subtle. Thats when we get into the area of manipulation. We will talk about that next time.
Peace,
Kevin
