Ah ha...A good question.
In regards to my last posting about being under Satan's attack, Becki posed the questions "How do you know when it is Satan's attack & when it is "iron sharpening iron"? Just wondering.... " GOOD QUESTION...My thoughts are... IF and only if you find positive constructive good out of the debate AND those involved are walking away feeling like they weren't bruised during the "debate" then I would consider that "debate" iron sharpening iron. Now this means in my opinion that any debate that we have COULD be used as iron sharpening iron, but I know that on some occasions I felt like I was hurt after a discussion on certain topics. Thus creates a problem, and in my opinion a foothold. JMO...take it or leave it.
posted by Erin @ 9:45 PM
4 Comments:
I’m not even sure I know the answer to my own question! I completely agree with you that any conversation/debate could be used to “sharpen iron”, but could also be used by Satan to create a rift. I think intentions of the people involved would have a lot to do with it. Sometimes you just can’t help if a person gets “bruised”. From recent experiences I’ve learned that despite my best, most sincere intentions, someone can still end up feeling hurt. I think the way things are shared and the words that are used can be either uplifting or damaging and I know Scripture supports the idea that the tongue is like a rudder of a large ship & the importance of the words we choose. I had a revelation that instead of trying to continually show all the negatives of a person’s point-of-view, I should just try sharing the positives of mine. I think if relationships end up broken or irreparable because of a conversation, Satan won. I'll be really interested to see what someone else thinks.....
This got me thinking and sent me searching. Thought I would share one thing I found, I will leave my own opinion out this time... Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his frined. A commentary on this verse: A meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them, and shape them into brilliant insights. This requires discussion partners who can challenge eachother and simulate thought - people who focus on the idea without involving egos in the discussion, people who know how to attack the thought and not the thinker. Two friends who bring their ideas together can help eachother become stronger."
I think if you really want to get to the point of it, it isn't the conversation that matters. What are your underlying motives in giving your opinion. If we're al honest, at times we just want to get our opinion in there to put it in there. That's where satan gets a hold. It isn't the conversation, it's intentions and motives. You can come away feeling hurt, but you may have just heard what you needed to hear. Truth hurts a lot of the time. But, if you can look past the hurt, you can grow. Paul and Peter were on the same mission, but Paul had to step in and steer Peter right. The way it happened probably wasn't how Peter would've hope for it to. But he needed to hear it. Just because hurt is involved in the matter doesn't mean satan is in it. If you look at how they sharpened iron, they heated it up and beat it against another piece of iron, because only the anvil, if you will, was strong enough to take the beating for the other piece. Iron sharpening iron is bigger than it appears. Sometimes the 'wrong person' needs to be "beaten" and corrected by someone who can take harshness from them and endure it for the other's benefit. You need to look deeper than just what is being said and whether or not someone feels bruised or hurt. That's my take.
Amen! Ditto! Yeah, what the last guy said....
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