Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
A person reading the Bible does not have to devour large sections in one reading. In fact, when reading the Book of Proverbs, I would advise against reading too much. Why? Because there are so many nuggets of great stuff in there, it’s good to sit with a verse of two of Proverbs and prayerfully reflect on how it can impact your life.
Today’s verse of Scripture provides two powerful real life examples of how we are to act towards one another. If you take two knives that are made of iron and rub the blades together, the iron of each becomes sharper. If you take a knife to wood, over time the interaction with the wood will make the knife blade become dull. When we get ourselves around people who are spiritually sharp, desiring to walk closer with God, when we share that same desire, both of us will become spiritually sharper. Take someone who is spiritually sharp and have them hang around people who don’t give a care to spirituality, their spirituality will become dull over time. This is one of the reasons why we belong to a church community. Because if we try to remain sharp on our own, as we deal with the challenges of the world, we will become spiritually dull, because we have nothing to renew us, sharpen us, and even challenge us. Put someone on a deserted island for 20 years, even without the challenges we find around town, and they will still become dull. Why? Because loneliness and boredom will become the enemies, rather than stress and overstimulation. Our spirits each day are either becoming sharper or dull, there is no in the middle on this. So, one question to ask yourself today is are you sharpening your soul today, and if so, how, and with whom? And if you are not sharpening your soul today, is your soul in danger of becoming dull? Does it need to be resharpened?
The second example of iron sharpening iron comes from taking two iron rods and rubbing them together. Iron rods will not sharpen like iron knives, but rubbing iron rods together quickly will create friction, heat, sparks, and ultimately fire. One rod by itself cannot produce any of these things. But two rods, taken together, can produce all of these things quickly and well. If we see our soul like an iron rod, if we join our spirituality to another person, whose soul also wants to grow in the faith, then something can grow from souls working in harmony. Imagine if an entire community was joined together in a spiritual manner, the kind of spiritual inferno that could result from iron sharpening iron on a community-wide basis.
Let’s go back to us as individuals. Today we will each interact with someone. It might be a spouse, a child, a co-worker or a friend. Does your heart resemble a sharp knife or a dull one? Is it ready to help someone sharpen their spirit or bring someone else down? If your heart is like an iron rod, does it eagerly seek other iron rods with which to bond and create sparks, or does it stand alone, solitary, proud?
If iron sharpens iron, ideally people’s lives should be improved after they interact with us. We should find improvement from the people we interact with. In my own life, I enjoy being around people who encourage and motivate me to be sharper spiritually. I enjoy and gravitate toward people who seek spiritual unity and betterment. To me, iron sharpens iron is a great motto for friendships, to seek friends who will build you up rather than tear you down. There are so many obstacles to be overcome in life. We meet these challenges by seeking people who will help us get over them, rather than tempt us to go away from them, or cheat on them, or ignore them. There are plenty of people who need our help—each of us has been given a unique way in which to help sharpen others, to help others get through the challenges of life. Are we people who seek to sharpen others, to build them up, or distract them, tempt them or tear them down?
As we seek to build up friendships this coming year, remember that iron sharpens iron, and get around people who will encourage and motivate you to be the best you can be, and do the same for them. Encourage, by the way, doesn’t mean you have to validate everything that other people do, including their bad things. It means that we encourage others to be sharp and to stay away from the things that make them dull. And that we accept the same kind of guidance when it is given to us.
To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in Thee I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Yea, let none that wait for Thee be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; for Thee I wait all the day long. Be mindful of Thy mercy, O Lord, and of Thy steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions; according to Thy steadfast love remember me, for Thy goodness’ sake O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. .For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him will He instruct in the way that he should choose. He himself shall abide in prosperity and his children shall possess the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn Thou to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh guard my life, and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in Thee. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for Thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Psalm 25
Get around others who can sharpen you. Look out for others by sharpening them.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission. From the Online Chapel of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
