April 14, 2005
Time magazine has published a special issue called "The Time 100...the lives and ideas of the world's most influential people."
Mostly they are celebrities or political leaders.
There are some people you've never heard of so it is difficult to judge what kind of "influence" they have been on your life.
Time never defines influence and so we can't know what it means.
Hillary Swank, the actress, is in there.
She doesn't influence me, though I like her work.
Martha Stewart is on the list.
She doesn't influence me, either, especially in stock trading.
This is celebrity gossip.
Real influence is the ability to change a life for the better.
Real influence is taking someone who is blind and helping him to see.
Rick warren is listed.
He's the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
That's about as close to real influence as time magazine gets.
I didn't make the list, but I don't make any lists.
The only list that really matters, though, is the list of names in the book of life.
If you're not on that list, none of the other lists matter.
Even if you are, those other lists don't matter.
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
