|
Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens the wits of another.
-Proverbs 27:17
One of my practices is to look at the “Memories” on Facebook each morning. This is a list of what you shared on that day each year you’ve had your account. I’ve had mine almost two decades now, so there’s a long list each day. Recently, I found one from about a year ago. I posted that our oldest son mused the following on the way home from our group guitar practice... “Being a musician is making lots of mistakes and then learning from them later and doing better next time... Actually, being a human is the same thing basically.”
I shared it and saved it because there was some real wisdom in his observation. Our passage reminds us that we are always striving to do better. And in groups, like a band, we help one another improve in skill and become more harmonious. The more we play together, the better we get, and the more beautiful our music. What a model for Christian life together and friendship. At our best, friction doesn’t result primarily in damage but in becoming sharper, becoming better, mutual benefit.
In Christian community, we must then ask if we are using the time and opportunity we have together to benefit one another and become sharper, wiser, better, or... if we are simply causing friction... or damage. In Lent, we do well to assess ourselves and our relationships and to perhaps adjust our practices, to do better, and to make a more joyful noise as members of the same band. Let’s be good iron. Let’s make mistakes, learn from them, and do better next time.
|
