Iron Sharpens...
Posted in accountability, anger, heat, iron, Mike's Posts, proverbs 27:17, questions, sharpens 0 comments
I
love the verse “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
Today I see it in a completely different light.
I wonder if there is more to the verse than we are reading…
I have always really held this verse closely as an accountability verse; we need people in our lives that sharpen us. We need people in our lives that hold us to a higher standard.
But does iron really sharpen iron?
My understanding is that iron really dulls iron – Is it impossible for two items of the same core strength to sharpen each other?
What if this proverb was looked at more simplistic and logical? After all, isn’t that what the proverbs are simple yet logical observations in live?
What if it were not looked at through a positive, affirming light?
We understand that many of the proverbs are somewhat witty, if not completely satirical. We also understand that God has a sense of humor and a unique way of pointing us back to Him.
Today I see it in a completely different light.
I wonder if there is more to the verse than we are reading…
I have always really held this verse closely as an accountability verse; we need people in our lives that sharpen us. We need people in our lives that hold us to a higher standard.
But does iron really sharpen iron?
My understanding is that iron really dulls iron – Is it impossible for two items of the same core strength to sharpen each other?
What if this proverb was looked at more simplistic and logical? After all, isn’t that what the proverbs are simple yet logical observations in live?
What if it were not looked at through a positive, affirming light?
We understand that many of the proverbs are somewhat witty, if not completely satirical. We also understand that God has a sense of humor and a unique way of pointing us back to Him.
As
I understand it, we need something harder to sharpen a blade. When I go to sharpen a kitchen knife, I do not
just run to my silverware drawer and start rubbing knives together. That would be ludicrous; I would end up with
two butter knives. I have to have a
stone, a flint, a rock to rub them against to get the blade to proper
sharpness. As side note, I notice that
older knives that have been sharpened are less and less of the original iron…
the blade becomes smaller. What a great
picture of how we need to grow as followers of Jesus.
So
– does iron sharpen iron? No it just
creates heat and creates dullness.
What
if the point is the obvious, that man does not sharpen man… we need something
stronger, more solid. We need a rock or
a stone to be sharpened. Continually in
scripture, God is referred to as a Rock or a Stone. What if the point is that real growth has to
come based on our contact with the Rock. True growth is from God… it is an incredible
blessing that sometimes He allows us to take part in a fellow believer’s life.
I
see this in my experience with accountability and relationships. I notice that sometimes our attempt at iron
sharpening iron, to hold someone accountable, just creates heat and anger. I am not a Hebrew scholar, but I understand,
that the Hebrew word for “sharpen” refers to fierceness, anger, or heat. I have experienced people who become angry
when we attempt to hold them accountable. This has gone to the point that I feel
powerless and incredibly inept at speaking words of life into them.
What
are your thoughts?
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