Does Iron Sharpen Iron?

Proverbs 27:17 states the following:

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." (KJV+)

This proverb has been used a lot in connection with relationships. Interestingly enough, when you Google the phrase "How does iron sharpen iron?" there are hundreds of sites that come up and the first 50+ tell you NOTHING (empirically anyway) about how to sharpen iron. Rather, the links lead you to places like blogs that have quoted this verse, an organization where Christian men can encourage one another, and some musicians. There was even one site that claimed that it is impossible to sharpen a metal (iron) with the same type of metal (iron). Based on this conclusion, the author then went on to say that people cannot really sharpen one another and God is the only one able to do that. Although the argument was interesting, not a single source was quoted or linked and there was no reason for me to just believe what this individual wrote (no credentials qualifying this type of expertise) so I did what I taught my students to do - I evaluated the evidence (or lack thereof) -- it isn't empirical. Therefore, I will currently disagree with the conclusion. I was unsuccessful in my search to either support or negate what the individual stated. I even attempted to Google "chemistry and iron sharpening". Definitely didn't find what I was looking for. If more substantial evidence can be found...then I will revisit this author's line of thinking. Saying that, if anyone has access to said information, please fill me in or link to it in my comments. After a rather large chunk of time, my search needed to end...at least for the purpose of this post.

"Purpose?" you are wondering...does she have one???

Yes. But before I get to the true purpose, just follow me a little bit regarding this proverb (if I haven't lost you already!). Putting the whole "iron" portion aside, for any metal to be sharpened, it takes care. When my kitchen knives get dull I cannot just bang on them to sharpen them again. Actually, I have Cutco knives (a true lifetime warranty) so when necessary, I send the dull knife to the experts, they sharpen it and send it back. The point? Well...how would individuals sharpen one another?

My guess is that any or all of the following would apply:

• The individuals have both similarities and differences to one another. These qualities allow sharpening to occur in specific areas of the individuals lives while a relationship is able to exist and flourish.
• There is a mutual respect for one another. Differing views do not result in judgement. This is HUGE because there are not many relationships where lack of understanding or agreement doesn't move to judgement. At the same time this doesn't mean that sharpening = agreement with the differing view.
• For the best results of sharpening, God has to be involved in the process. He needs to be at the center of the individuals lives. It is also beneficial if He is at the core of their relationship / friendship. This doesn't mean that sharpening won't occur without focus on Him. It's just that nothing that we do (in and of ourselves) is as good as when our actions follow after and model Him.

As I was pondering all of this I was reminded of the relationship that David and Jonathon had. This is probably due to the fact that I have only recently finished reading 1Samuel and am finally reading 2Samuel. They were different from one another -- one the son of a King, one anointed by God to be King. I am sure they differed in other areas too. But they still had such a strong bond -- one that causes us to say they were not just dear friends but brothers. Even after David was finally King over all of Israel, he searched out a descendant of Saul's so that he could honor Jonathon. Wow.

The point?!?!? Finally. I have a dear friend who has become a sister to me over the last number of years. We are different. We are similar. We both like to dig deeper. God has asked us to take different paths in various areas of our lives. We choose not to judge one another but rather support and encourage each other as we run our own race. We are able to see and expose the areas where God is working in us without judgement. We know that we are safe and loved and prayed for...and when God makes the necessary changes, we rejoice with one another. You could say we sharpen each other. She has recently started the blog Mirror Mirror. If you are interested in being challenged and stretched and are OK with getting a bit dirty while digging deeper, then I encourage you to stop by, read, and ponder...maybe be sharpened.