Key People

Keys

Here is something new for you. Who are the key people in your life? Before you answer that question, let me lay out a couple of definitions or guidelines to what I mean.

A key does what? It opens a door. A key allows you to places that were previously closed to you. There is a sense in which a key, as in a key decision, determines direction or purpose. Even then it is still a door opener – even if the ‘door’ is purely allegorical. Then again, a key can be a person or a place.

I remember a story about new folk moving into a small village. Villages are often quite closed to outsiders until they know you. This village was no different for the incomers and, although they believed God had brought them to the place, they were finding it very hard to get to know too many people. One day, the man was walking past the local vegetable gardens, where locals cultivated their own vegetables (!!) A man was working there and they bid each other good morning. The new man was about to move on when the Lord told him to stay around for a few moments. The gardener was what we call a ‘colourful character’. He was talkative, friendly, and he knew every person in the village and their histories too. He also used very bad language – all the time.

During the conversation, names were exchanged and the gardener proved a mine of local information. When he found out that the incomer was Christian, something remarkable happened – he changed the tone of his language to suit his new ‘friend’. The upshot of all this was introductions to everyone in the village. Invitations proliferated and new members of the community were soon accepted as part of the fabric of the village. The gardener was the ‘key’ to the whole village.

So, have you identified the key people for your family life and your church life? Family life is easy because they are all key in a way. Church life is different. There will be different groups of people in the church and each group will have a key person – and it will not always be the one in charge or responsible for the activity. In sales talk, there is a decision maker – usually the one in charge, and there is the main influencer without whom very few decisions are made. The key person is frequently the main influencer.

When you identify your keys, life will become that little bit easier. You may also be a key in others lives. I pray you have Godly wisdom and a listening ear to hear both what others say to you and to hear what God says to you.

It’s a big responsibility having or being a key.