Iron sharpeneth Iron.

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17

 

When I think of this verse I think of a butcher. Having worked in a butcher shop when I was younger, I used to see them sharpening their knives with the ‘steel’ as it was called.

When the knife was found to be not as sharp as it ought to be, and not cutting the meat as well as it should be, the butcher will sharpen it on his steel, then it will work as needed.

 

I believe this is how Christians are meant to be sharpening each other.

When one Christian sees that another isn’t quite ‘sharp’ enough, the other is supposed to come alongside them and help sharpen them.

We all have had different journeys to where we are in the Lord and sometimes we may miss something that the Lord has shown someone else (and vice-versa), and this is where the ‘sharpening’ comes in. The other person is then to explain the situation and help the other sharpen their whatever it is tha
t the Lord wants sharpening so that He can use them in a different, better way.

It could be something like sharpening up our discernment, our prayer life, our servanthood etc. If God sees that we are a bit blunt in one area of our life, He will send someone in to be the sharpener.

But, the very important thing not to miss here is that both people need to be willing and able to be the sharpener and or the sharpened.

On one hand, the person that the Lord has shown something needs to be willing and able to be the ‘steel’, the sharpener, and on the other hand, the other person needs to be willing and able to be sharpened. If we are not willing to be either, then we cannot be used as well as we ought for God’s purposes and plans.

 

If we are not willing to be sharpened, then we really are saying ‘no’ to God. We are refusing to allow ourselves to be rebuked, corrected and then used by the Lord. We put ourselves above God and make ourselves our own god when we do this.

 

Are you willing and able?