Have you ever thought about the power of influence? In the case a child, they watch those around, learning every move, hanging to each word, and acknowledging every action. The kids eventually act like replicas of the adults around them, copying language and mimicking actions; we refer to this as “monkey see, monkey do,” and it demonstrates how susceptible adolescent minds. Similarly, though we like to think of ourselves as less mouldable, we adults can compare to those children. There is a great power of influence from the music we listen to, what we watch on TV, others we spend time with, habits we see, and pastimes we choose. Likewise, as we soak up habits, practices, and characteristics from the world around us, we equally emit such manipulating power to those we encounter on a daily basis. Philippians 4:8-9 reminds us, “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” As Christians, we should ensure we are surrounding ourselves with positive, healthy lifestyle choices… sooner or later, whether we like it or not, we will get accustomed that around us and we will also become a case of “monkey see, monkey do”.