In the Bible everything begins from two sources, represented by two trees. On the one hand, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, with attractive yet poisonous knowledge, reasonings and doubtings of the Serpent. On the other hand, we have the tree of Life, with the promise of identification with God in His very essence. The whole Bible then, is a war of persuasion - with God trying to persuade us to His side, and Satan trying to persuade us to any side but God's. So then, I take no issue with any form of persuasion, as long as it's source is in God. This implies that there is real substance, truth and life underlying the message, not emptiness, vanity, death and lies, as in the case of Satan.
Jesus said his followers are the salt of the earth, and if they lose their saltiness, with what shall they be salted? Salt tastes strong. It can be good or bad, but in any case it has a little power, a little influence. Salt is pure, almost elemental. It's taste derives from it's constitution. Salt can heal wounds and kill germs. If we are genuinely 'salt', we will have a genuine and strong 'flavor'.
In the Bible and all Christian writing, you will find all of these methods applied, to persuade us either to God's side or to Satan's. Sometimes it's hard to tell which - remember the subtle serpent is a master of disguise, while God Himself likes to remain hidden, even outwardly repellent, and let His core virtues attract us... The greatest gift God gave to man, His Life, came from His pierced side.
Suffice it to say, I believe relating well to others is the key to influence. The level of relatedness is determined by the level of maturity and socio-emotional intelligence. The level of maturity and the level of socio-emotional intelligence are determined by the level of life - eg Dog life versus Human life or Baby life versus Adult life, all versus Christ and the Divine Life.
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