Proverbs 27: 17 “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”

In High school, I ran track and field. I actually ran in the sprinting events, the 100m, 200m, and 400m dashes. Part of my training for these races, however, was running longer distances as well as working in the weight-room. Why did I have to do weights? I was a runner! Why the bench-presses, the squats, the curls? I didn’t need to have muscles in my upperbody! But the short-distance coach would make us work on our upper bodies, our chest muscles and our backs.

We found out that part of running, what makes us run faster and better is proper body posture, and to have the right posture, we need to have the muscle control in our upper bodies to hold our torso and back squarely in alignment the entire race, no matter what happens. Our coach would make us work out so we could be better runners. This meant that he would push us, cajole us, force us to do more, try harder, lift more, and run faster even when we did not think that we could.

In our walk with God, we need to stretch, to strive, to push. The problem that we face here, however, is that we are inherently lazy. Oh sure, there are those special few who push themselves farther than anyone else. Yet, all to often, we stop when it gets hard, tough, or when we just don’t feel like it anymore.

We need a “spiritual trainer” to help us, like a physical trainer or a coach who will force us to go further, to try harder, who pushes us beyond where we think we can go. We need someone who can make us re-evaluate our position and thoughts.

When I ran track, I hated being in the gym, I hated the work, the effort, the pain, and having to go farther than I thought that I should at that time. Why should I have to do so much in one go?

If had not done as much, I would not have been able to run as fast or as far. I needed to be pushed. We need the same spiritually. We need to be encouraged, to have our habits change. We need to be sharpened.

I like the way the CEV puts this verse “Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” Friends sharpen the minds of each other. We come together and fellowship, and in this fellowship we help each other.

Let us strive this week to sharpen each others mind’s and to sharpen each other’s relationship with Christ, our Saviour.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.