Iron sharpens iron

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

Thus says a familiar Bible passage we have often heard quoted. It is very simple, it is somewhat oddly comforting, it invites us into relationship with other believers. But have we ever stopped to meditate on the meaning? I would like to share a few thoughts with you today concerning this verse and perhaps spur some additional thoughts in your mind.

I have in my home several different types of knives. Each is designed a bit differently according to its purpose. Some I purchased new, others are older, even others are antiques. Why such a variety? I have somewhere in my possession a pocket knife my daddy gave me when I was younger. It is a general-purpose knife often used for cutting string, cutting slices out of an apple to eat, whittling, or any other number of small tasks. I have acquired, somewhere along the line, an antique straight razor. It also serves a number of purposes. It was designed specifically for shaving and I can remember years ago having a barber who was very proficient in using one. However, because of the danger involved in a straight razor (lacking any safety or protection), it became a weapon of choice for murder. Interesting. Along that same line, I have a military-grade bayonet-style knife that was designed very clearly for nothing but killing, tearing, ripping, and maiming enemy soldiers. I also have a more civilized partially serrated knife that is used in the field for hunting. It is designed to puncture the body of an animal (or a person) and cut through any tissue or bone that may get in the way. I have oriental throwing stars that are also used as weaponry. Backing away from the weapon-only blades I have, I have in my kitchen knives designed for chopping vegetables and fruits, knives designed just for cutting bread, and I have butter knives.

Why do I list all of these and what do they have to do with our text? Simple. Each type of knife represents a different type of man and woman in our fellowship of Christians. The pocket knife represents the basic application principles of our faith that we pass down to our youth. Those of us who are the “run of the mill” Christians, the average Joe, who have learned to exercise our faith for standard living in this world are called to pass down our knowledge and wisdom to the young men and women in our local body – to mentor them. Such wisdom is invaluable to every Christian. The straight razor, however, is used frequently to keep ourselves clean. This represents those Bible verses and disciplinary measures we often need to use on ourselves or others in order to properly live in accordance with what God calls us to be and do. We cannot speak into the lives of others with any measure of repoirte if we look like we have just crawled out of the gutter. The straight razor helps us keep the godly appearance that is attractive to others. The bayonet, hunting knife, and throwing stars remind us that occasionally we need to be on the offense. The Christian life, though often portrayed as merely a pastoral, calm, serene, and peaceful life, sometimes calls for the warrior in us to arise and face the battle. It is then we need those teachings of scripture that direct us in the fight. Oftentimes it takes more than speaking a word over the situation to overcome it as we must – some situations call for more aggressive, hardened, and violent actions on our part. The kitchen utensil knives – the chopping, paring, serrated, and others – speak to us of preparing nourishment for ourselves and others. These would lean toward those scriptures that build each other up, that encourage one another, that offer a time of fellowship around a table together where we can share our concerns, our fears, our trials. Lastly, the butter knife represents spreading joy and happiness with our brothers and sisters. Life is not all combat. Life is not all just keeping ourselves clean-shaven (metaphorically) and holy looking. Sometimes we rejoice with one another around a coffee table, picnic table, or kitchen table – just enjoying each others’ company.

Yet each of these (and other) types of knives are considered irons. Each one must be sharpened differently in accordance with their use. A paring knife or a chef’s knife used in the kitchen would have a different, finely-honed edge in order to achieve its goal. A straight razor had BETTER have a razor-thin, smooth edge or it will surely slice the throat it was designed to merely clean. A hunting knife, though sharp, will have yet a different edge put on it. It must be sharp enough to cut, slice, and penetrate, but it would quickly lose a straight-razor edge because of wrong sharpening. The edge on one of these must be thicker, tougher, and sharpened far different.

We must, as brothers and sisters, learn the type of iron we are fellowshipping with. For example, to sit down with a prophet would be to sit down (many times) with a hunting knife. A deacon might be more of a chopping, paring, or chef’s knife for his purpose is serving the people of the local church. If he were to envy the edge on a straight razor, he might inadvertantly cause extreme damage to anyone he encounters. You see where I’m going with this.

All the same, we need each other. Our edges may get nicked or dulled by wrong or extended use. Our tip may get blunted or damaged by abuse (for example, using a butter knife for a screwdriver). Applying the wrong knife to a situation may cause the blade to get bent or twisted just from the sheer force of trying to use the wrong knife in a wrong way. That is why we must come together regularly and often – because we need to have our edges cleaned up and resharpened by one another. We all have blind spots. We might think we are still sharp, yet have a nick in our edge that we can’t detect. We may wonder why we are not as effective as we once were. That’s where our brothers and sisters come into play – they can see us as we truly are and encourage us to allow ourselves to be sharpened by the Word of God and the love of our mentors and friends.

I also have in my kitchen a knife sharpening rod that is designed to sharpen all types of blades. It can sharpen anything from the thinnest paring knife to my bayonet with little to no effort. And yes, I have a razor strop for my straight-razor. It puts a horrendously sharp edge on my straight-razor.

For this cause, my friend, we must find those with whom we can be totally vulnerable and honest. It is uncomfortable at first to open up and allow others to see us as we are. We have all been damaged by years of use. Some of us have been severely damaged by abuse. Many of us are just damaged by years and years of service. We need a check-up. We need to meet with others who can lovingly restore our edge that we might, once again, be useful in the Kingdom. I pray you find just such a group and, perhaps, to find a mentor such as I enjoyed.

Be blessed.