Iron Sharpens Iron

Proverbs 27:17 - "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

 

How does this play out in our lives?

 

It plays out as we rub shoulders with all kinds of people, the good and the not so good. We can be sharpened through good people who speak into our lives. We can be sharpened through people who irritate us, and who are not easy to love. We are sharpened by people who don't think like us, and may even oppose us. 

 

The idea here is that friction is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a very good thing. Yet, we must not resist the master (God) who is using that very thing to refine us. We must not run from the friction, but embrace it. 

 

Now no one likes the process, but we must learn from the process. If we don't, we the blade will get all nicked up and dull. Then become ineffective or useless to the master. 

 

I find a problem among many Christians today. They don't want to fellowship with other Christians, especially those who don't believe or think like them. They don't want anyone to hold them accountable. They only want to be around people who are like minded, and easy to get a long with. This is one of the reasons many believers don't attend church or enter into fellowship with other believers. Also, it is one of the reasons why there is so many church defections. 

 

Now I am not opposed to us having fellowship with people who are like minded, and easy to love. Yet, if this is the only people we surround ourselves with, then we are not being honed to the sharpness that is most beneficial.

 

Thankfully, we can never avoid all those people who rub us the wrong way, no matter how hard we try.