Iron Sharpens Iron

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

One day I had a conversation with someone and the direction of the conversation took a turn I was not expecting. As I listened to them talking and waited for my turn to speak I had a vision of a sword cutting a rubbery substance when it came into contact with it. Immediately the scripture above came to my mind. In that moment I recognized that what I had to say in response to the discussion would not affect them in the way it would someone else who was also like iron. Instead of sharpening them, it would cut them. So, I refrained from responding.

Although I value the process of being sharpened and sharpening others I began to ponder…what happens if we are not like iron, or the person we are attempting to sharpen is not like iron? While coming into contact with one another, we will not yield the expected results and possibly cause some form of injury or counterproductive consequence. The other way to view this is we can miss an opportunity to be sharpened through our interactions with others because we are not like the iron we should be. So when they come into contact with us we don’t improve.

When we become dull in certain areas of our lives we need to be sharpened. So, God will use different types of iron-sharpening tools (friends) to refine us. I look at it like when using a knife in the kitchen to cut food. As it becomes dull it is more difficult to slice and chop. It can slow your cutting time, produce less crisp results, and possibly hinder you from making a complete cut through a food item. But once your knife is sharpened, those three things will improve depending on what type of knife you are using and what you are cutting. In the same way, we have to be sharpened from time to time to eliminate the dull areas in our lives. The purpose is to make us more effective and useful for the kingdom of God.

I did some research on the process of sharpening iron. There are several steps and other products used in the procedure. However, one key takeaway I found relevant to this article is that one must use the proper sharpening tool. Not every (iron) tool is meant to sharpen another. The proper sharpening tool must be used to produce the best results and prevent damage to the tool being sharpened (Branett, 2024).

Similarly, we need to recognize who can sharpen us, and vice versa. It’s important to identify who in your life can rub against/strike you with the effect of sharpening, strengthening, and improving you. Equally important, you must be able to identify who you were designed to sharpen and be the type of iron capable of sharpening others you come into contact with. It will make a difference in the long run! This is the will of God for our lives.

                                                                                                                                    Selah

Branett, J. (2024, May 17). How to Sharpen Iron. Metal Fixes. Retrieved August 14, 2024, from https://metalfixes.com/how-to-sharpen-iron/