Iron Sharpening IRON

Let's see, where to begin? The beginning...
So I have a "mentor." In parentheses because that isn't really the right word. Something closer would be "discipler." You know, that person who is the one who has put an extensive amount of time, resources, effort, and Patience into you in order to help you in your process of becoming mature. We've been meeting together for about 3 years. I know! LONG TIME. but in actuallity its been about 25-30 years that we have known eachother.

Fastforward...last week's lesson. Iron Sharpening Iron...

I'm not sure how to explain this exactly but I'll try. We were "debriefing" from an event, what we like to call "post-mortem." Simply put, we were picking apart the last week. Start wtih the Good stuff, move to the stuff that needs to be worked on, end with the positive again, and a general overview of things.

The 1st and last are ok to deal with, its the middle part that is hard to handle. If you know me well, you know that I tend to take criticism rather personally. Needless to say the "things to be worked on" category is a deeply personal, and dificult thing for me to endure, but it must be endured for growth to happen. That doesn't mean that I like it though! In fact its quite the opposite, I loath those times. So much so that I take anything less than perfection as failure, even if it was a huge success. (I know, I'm complicated...) We did the "things to be worked on" part and I had to deal with it. (not easily) This is the Iron Sharpens Iron phase.

I have some observations about the sharpening phase:
1. Nothing stays sharp forever. Not even Ginsu knives. No matter how good the material is, it will eventually need to be sharpened because of use or abuse.
2. Putting the edge back on is a rough process. Take a knife for example. What usually happens is that a knife looses its edge, becomes dull and doesn't cut well. The knife owner will then sharpen it by rubbing it against a stone or a steele. An abrasive. What this does is remove metal in a systematic fashion untill the knife is sharp again. No matter how you cut it (LOL) metal must be removed by an abrasive in order for the sharpness to return.
3. Sharpening is a painfull process. If you are the knife. Parts of you that are no longer suitable or good for use must be removed. It doesn't matter how much you like them or how comfortable they make you feel if you want to be usefull again you have to become sharp again.
4. Dullness comes in varying degrees. That is, the amount of sharpening needed depends on how dull you have become. For example, try cutting a piece of meat with a new steak knife, then try cutting it with a butter knife. The new sharp edge cuts nicely while the butter knife smashes the meat, rips it apart, tears the muscles and leaves jaged edges. Obviously butter knives are supposed to be more blunt than a steak knife but you get the idea. In a perfect world we would all stay razor sharp all the time, but because we are constantly hitting the world around us we become dull. How dull depends on how much you allow yourself to hit the world around you. Again, if you are a knife.
5. Even though the sharpening process is hard, the end result is worth it. Once a knife has been returned to a sharp state it works smoother, more efficiently, and with less damage than in it's dull state. Have you ever cut yourself with a dull knife? I have and I can tell you that it hurts more, heals slower, and does more damage than a sharp knife.
6. A good sharpener knows when to stop sharpening. There is a point where you sharpen too much and end up ruining the knife. When is that? It depends on the knife. A high quality piece of steele, that is well cared for, and hits the stone or steele often, takes less time to sharpen than a low grade of steele that is neglected. A good sharpener will only take off what is necessary to make the knife sharp again, no more no less. The law of diminishing returns applies here.
7. No knife, no matter how delicately handled and how well kept will last forever. Eventually the metal will wear down to a point that the manufacturer never meant for it to reach and it must be discarded. But how does that make sense if this process is supposed to be a good one? It doesn't, unless I'm not talking about knives alone and there is more to this little rant.

The good news is that we are not knives. Even though some of the same principels apply to knives that apply to our Lives, the last one is not necessarily true for our lives. Spiritually speaking we are to be renewed, and filled with the Holy Spirit so that we never allow ourselves to become less than the manufacturer recomends. Sure we become dull from time to time and need to be "resurfaced" but the process of Spiritually staying sharp doesn't take away more than it builds up. While some rough edges, knicks, or burrs are removed the idea is that they are replaced with more Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control leaving us more full of Spiritual things than when we started.

I've come to accept that Sharpening though not a pleasent experience is a necessary one. One that the results far out weigh the abrasive surfaces we must come into contact with.