This verse tells me two things: 1) Believers need to be sharp, and 2) people help to make us sharper. Let’s examine this a little. Obviously, we know that the opposite of sharp is dull. Here is what the dictionary defines dull as: “not bright, dim, having very little depth of color, lacking brightness of mind, unfeeling.” Quite the opposite of sharp: “alert, awake, vigilant, spirited, mentally acute.” So the question becomes, which do you want to be, sharp or dull? I believe the Bible tells us that we are to be sharp.
According to our verse in Proverbs, people can help to sharpen us. In fact, the Bible is clear that we were never meant to walk alone, work alone, do ministry alone. Jesus had 12 men who walked with Him and three that were His inner circle: Peter, James, and John. The apostle Paul was never alone… he traveled with Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, among many others. These people worked alongside him, ministered to him and with him, lifted him up when he was down, prayed for him, and led by example.
Hence, we need community… most specifically Christian community. We should surround ourselves with Christians who inspire us, encourage us, pray for us, and speak truth into us. In fact, I’ll go so far to say that those in our inner circle should be Christians (strong believers). We need people who inspire us in our parenting, encourage us in our ministry, guide us to have a deeper prayer life, and motivate us to become better students of His Word. On the other hand, we also need to be those who sharpen other believers.
Let me encourage you to get in community if you’re not. Let people in who will sharpen you and ask the Lord who you might sharpen. Here’s the thing… a sharp edge will get dull, so we must be intentional about keeping our edge sharpened. Let these words encourage you today.