Iron Sharpens Iron-Devotion

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

(Proverbs 27:17 ESV) When you are are stuck in sin, what are you compelled to do? Are you compelled to engage other believers and prayerfully work through sin’s power in your life? Hopefully that is the case, but for many believers we urge ourselves to withdraw, retract, and disengage from those who would walk through our sin with us. This is the last thing we should do! It can be embarrassing admitting we messed up. Let us remember, as Christians, we are called to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). This is not an irrational rule meant to shame us into compliance. Contrarily, it is intended for our benefit and building one another up in love. What we seem to forget is that what we struggle with others have or do as well. Our Christian brother or sister has already been through what we have and can be there to help us through it. Don’t let pride keep you in sin!! We may be grieved by our sin but continue to live in it because we aren’t confessing it and being sharpened in our fight against it. Repentance is much more than feeling sorry about our sin, it is literally turning around and going the opposite direction. Rather than living in the dark and returning to sin, confess your sin to a brother or sister and stay accountable to him or her. When this happens, you will find you both become sharper, more useful tools for the Lord. Who sharpens you?