The major of a city and his wife were siting at a McDonald’s restaurant one day when the major noticed his wife in deep conversation with a clown that was doing a birthday party. As they were leaving, the mayor asked his wife if she knew the man. “Know him?” she said. “i used to date him!” The mayor smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way. “You could have been married to a clown!” he said “That’s not the way I look at it.” his wife replied. “If I’d married him, he’d be mayor!”
Ah…nothing like a reality check and acknowledgement of where you’re at and how you got there! We all have influencers in our life – good and bad – hopefully mostly good! As a matter of fact, todays influencers are taking social media by storm.
By definition, an influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions etc of others because of their authority, knowledge, or position to their particular audience. Typically, each influencer is known for a specific niche – fashion, travel, gaming, beauty, health, fitness and so on. These people routinely earn from
$3,000 to $15,000 per month. Apparently people love to influence and others love to be influenced!
But, foremost for us should be: “Who is influencing our lives that keep us sharp for God?” If your answer is no one, that’s probably not a great thing! Proverbs 27:17 flat out tells us: “As iron sharpens iron so a friend sharpens a friend.” I call these iron sharpening sessions ‘sword fights’ and they can be tough for sure.
As one person remarked, “He that struggles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” Definitely not fun but if we are mature enough to take some constructive criticism, we can land on our feet and be the better for it.
These iron sharpening sessions can serve as reminders of the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who push us to be our best selves. They should inspire us, challenge us, and motivate us to growth. Personally, I occasionally need to be pushed out of my comfort zones into new levels of personal greatness. We should all desire to be our best selves!!!
Think of yourself as a bar of iron. A raw bar of iron might be worth $5, but if made into horseshoes, its value increases to $12. Made into needles, its value skyrockets to
$3,500 — going up! And finally, if this same bar of iron is made into balance springs for watches, its value soars to $300,000.00. That’s pretty amazing. Allow yourself to be sharpened and watch (no pun intended) your value soar!,
Have you ever tried to use a knife or pair of scissors only to find that they wouldn’t cut? Pretty frustrating. They needed to be sharpened. People are the same way.
Without “iron sharpening iron” we tend to stay in our comfort zones and nerd. It’s the truth. We need to surround ourselves with people who push us to be better.
There was once a lumber company who was looking for a few good men. They had two candidates – a young man and an old man. They gave both men the same kind of saw and a number of trees and gave them eight hours to cut. The young man cut nonstop. The old man would cut and sit down. Cut and sit down. All day long the two were cutting trees.
At the end of the day, the owners evaluated the amount of wood that was cut. The old man had cut twice as much wood. The young man said, “I don’t understand. I never sat down to take a break. That old man sat down real often. How did he beat me?” The owner simply replied, “That old man was not sitting to rest. He stopped to sharpen his saw.”
Ecclesiastes 10:10 reminds us that “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.” So how does one acquire this great wisdom to succeed? Again, the Bible says our friends should be helping us get sharp – and get smart. (Iron sharpening iron)
So let’s give it a shot here with a quote by A.A. Milne = “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Maybe try that on for size!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
