Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
My mentor told me a phrase that I will never forget, and he said this, "The older you get, the more guarded you become."
I thought about that because the older I get, the more tempting it is to shut people from my life, especially if I'm in a hard season.
Our Verse of the Day today is Proverbs chapter 27, verse 17. It says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."
Friction Creates Transformation
It's a very uncomfortable verse because many of us run away from accountability, and we don't like when people try to sharpen us. But here's what happens when iron sharpens iron: there is friction. When there's friction, there's tension. But without that friction, there can be no transformation.
I think we've gotten really good at hearing about how we need to get plugged in to community and join a small group and have accountability. I've heard that from the stage hundreds of times.
Why People Avoid Community
Truth be told, many people don't give community a shot and they don't give accountability a shot. Why? Maybe they've been burned in the past. Maybe they've shared something in a small group, and then somebody gossiped about them and they say, well, what's the point? People are talking behind my back. I don't feel accepted.
They just say, I'm going to tap out.
What happens? We get guarded, and now we don't give people permission to speak into our lives.
Christianity is a Team Sport
Christianity is not an isolated sport. It's a team sport. The more we drift from community, the more prone we are to isolation. When we’re isolated, eventually that's the breeding ground for addiction. Then we start to fight in isolation.
It's one thing to fight in community, but it's another thing to fight in isolation because we start to feel like we're the only ones that are wrestling with this sin.
Solomon is wise and he tells us, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."
Do you have that friend that you allow to speak into your life? Have you given anybody permission to speak into your life, or are you just kind of doing your thing and you're guarded and you don't let people in because you feel like, man, if they find out, they're going to look at me different and we're just not going to be friends anymore.
That is such a lie from the enemy, because Solomon says, "A friend sharpens a friend."
Break Your Pride
It takes a lot of courage to invite someone into your life, and you have to break your pride to say, be my accountability partner. I'm going to let you know how my prayer life is going, how I'm treating my wife, if I'm pursuing a life of purity, if I'm fasting, if I'm reading the Word. To say,"Hey, call me out if you see something in me."
I'll never forget. I was playing basketball with a friend and my buddy said, "Hey, you have an anger issue on the court."
I was like, "No, I'm just competitive."
I didn't like his comment. But then I started to think about it and I realized, yeah, I need to work through my anger.
It took a breaking of my pride to say, okay, I'm going to give you permission to speak into my life.
Two Key Questions
The first question is this: Who have you allowed to speak into your life?
But the second question is this: Are you speaking into someone else's life?
Here's why I asked that question. Because all of us have unique experiences. There are things that I've gone through—like I've battled addiction in my life for a long time—so I can speak into people's lives when it comes to addiction.
Your Experiences are for Others
The experiences that you went through and the trials that you went through, they're not just for you. They're there so that you can speak into someone else's life.
That's what's in view in this verse. Let's take this wisdom from Solomon. He says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."
