“Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17).
To sharpen something that is as hard as iron, it takes something equally hard. Anything softer would be reshaped itself. But iron sharpens another piece of iron. Even so, one man or woman sharpens another.
That’s what mentoring or discipling is all about. We sharpen one another. What I’ve learned in life helps strengthen someone else. What they’ve learned helps strengthen me.
Let take this to the next level. You and I have a responsibility to reshape our friends’ lives. We do that by interacting with them and holding the accountable in their lives. If we’re truly ‘friends’, its not that hard to sharpen one another.
Tags: discipleship, friendship
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).
Nothing hurts deeper than having someone deceitfully compliment you and talk about how they love you in the Lord…and then find out they were stabbing you in the back the whole time. Their loyalty was only to soften you up so they could do what they wanted to do. Those are the kisses of an enemy.
But a real friend will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. A friend will speak the truth even it hurts us. A friend is more concerned about our well-being and what God wants than making us smile. So, a real friend may wound us, but is always faithful.
Tags: enemy, friendship
Elmer Towns promoted an idea that many churches have built upon: Friendship Evangelism. He taught that before you had the right to talk to someone about their faith, you had to develop a friendship relationship with them. You do that by hanging out with them, playing with them, asking them questions about themselves that shows you care.
Our culture has made some negative turns in this area. The invention of the garage door opener has made it possible to drive out of your garage in the morning and drive into your garage in the evening, and never have to even see your neighbors. Some people moved into a new housing addition near my house named ‘Country Village’, and immediately put up a privacy fence to keep the country out.
Every house used to have a big front porch with a swing, now we build a back deck so we don’t have to meet people. Friendship is a dying art. You can’t go up to a stranger cold turkey and ask if they know Jesus. You must build a trust relationship with them. Once they believe you care about them, then they’ll let you into their real lives.
Tags: Caring, evangelism, friendship