Proverbs 27:17
“Iron sharpens iron, and one
man sharpens another.”
My commentary has this to say about the
verse; “As a
file sharpens an ax or a sharpening steel a carving knife, good friends
encourage one another to grow in wisdom and godliness, even if it requires
painful criticism.” It would be rare to have someone that is worldly encouraging you to grow
in godliness, so let me make an absolute statement, it would not happen.
A self-made man or woman has little need for God. They may use the Church for business or social
contacts, weddings, and funerals, but have no desire to take God or His Son
serious.
How can a young/man/woman find someone who can
sharpen them on the wisdom of God and also encourage and confront them in love
when they are not on the right path? Do not allow a person who is not
seeking God to be your mentor, for they cannot guide you in wisdom or
godliness. I was blessed to have a dad and mother who said, “Bobby, you
will become the people you hang around with.” As a young boy, I lived in
a fantasy world; my imagination always gave me illusions of being the best at
anything I dreamed.
But I got my bubble burst at school, it required
learning and study, sitting in a chair and paying attention to a teacher, I was
not in charge, so I chose to look for others, who like me for whatever reason
did not apply themselves. The first time this came to the surface was in
the seventh grade, and I was not allowed to follow my dream of playing
football, they would not even let me try out for the team; the coach said I was
too small and did not meet the weight requirement, my world was over!
So I chose to rebel, and I began to allow the boys
who were underachievers to guide my life.
That is a dead-end street that has impacted my life. My first
mentor was my barber, and it was based on all the wrong things, he was cool,
had a nice car, money, and was one dude you did not mess with. I had none of these, and yet my desire was to
be like Bob, the barber. But God, yes God was up to something, and I had
no clue that Bob Keese was changing from a very worldly man to a man who was
seeking God.
Bob Keese and his friend Johnny Anderson began to
talk to me about Jesus and show me a changed life, a life that required me to
give over the management of my hearts desire to be someone of value to a lost
and hopeless world of messed up people like myself. Six months later in a
hotel room, I read Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your
mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart,
resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in
salvation.” That night I acted on the faith and grace God had extended to me, and
Jesus Christ came in and began to change my life.
God has been faithful in sending men who have
mentored me in both wisdom and godliness and have loved me enough to tell me I
was wrong when I got on the wrong path. Over the years I’ve also invested
in younger men and yet at the age of 76 years I still have a man who is
investing in my growth in wisdom and godliness and is not fearful of telling me
I’m still a mess that needs to look only to Jesus.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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