If you're like me, you've heard this verse a million times and you think about it for a little bit and then move on about your life.
The King James Version says "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."
It is important to choose your friends wisely. Their behavior, good or bad, will have an effect on you. I know personally that I have picked up traits from people I hang out with often. In my case, they have been good traits. Honesty, humility, genuineness, and a pure heart are just a few of the character traits I have seen in close friends or relatives and I strive to possess more of each of these.
1 Corinthians 15:33. This is a bible verse I hold close to my heart.
"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.' "
NIV says, "Bad company corrupts good character."
This is not a "you are a bad person and you need to change" kind of blog. This is a blog strictly for me. A written challenge, if you will. I need to challenge myself to be the kind of person people want to be sharpened by. I want to be a humble, honest, genuine, and pure-hearted lover of Christ. I want to be the Proverbs 31 wife. I want to be the kind of person people love being around and can't wait to hang out with again. Not for selfish reasons, but because I love Jesus so much people just can't get enough of it. They strive for that kind of companionship. I believe it's how we should live. I want to position myself with people who are that kind of people. They sharpen me and I sharpen them.
In addition to being a good "iron" for my friends, I want to be that for my husband as well. If you look two verses above Proverbs 27:17, you will see an example of a horrid wife.
"A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand."
A leaky roof versus a mean, bitter wife are one in the same. You are trying to get out of the awful weather so you come inside only to notice you have a leaky roof. You are now under the same conditions you were when you were outside. Same with the wife. You deal with people all day and you come across people who are hateful, bitter, rude, deceitful, etc. You come inside, hoping to get away from it all and you have a wife who won't quit bothering you. She's rude or critical of you. She doesn't trust the decisions you make as the head of your home.
I want to be the wife that my husband loves to come home to and get away from the world with. A wife who bears his children and makes his house a home. A wife who he can be vulnerable with. Someone he can talk to about how his day went. His ups and downs. His successes and his failures. Someone who will be his strength when he is weak. Someone who will take care of him when he is sick. Someone who will be by his side no matter what. I want to be someone who can sharpen him. We, as a married couple, should be continually sharpening each other. Two imperfect people, joined in the union of marriage, have become a perfect covenant. Surrounding our Father. He has made us a perfect union. Never to fall apart, never to break. Never to cheat. Never to be rude to each other. Never to fight unfair. Never to walk out.
I have a spectacular husband. A God-fearing husband. One who is loved and respected by many. One who works hard to take care of his family. Who never complains about work. Even when he works 12 hour days, he never whines. When our funds are getting low, he never worries. He says "we pay our tithes, so I know God will provide." He has faith that our God will take care of us. He will be our shelter, our strong tower, our provider, and our very help in time of need.
I am very blessed to have Samuel in my life. He truly is a blessing from God. I'm so thankful that I found someone who will challenge me, who will sharpen me, who will care for me, and who will love me. I'm so happy I get to spend the rest of my life with him. Working together. Wrecking lives for the Kingdom of God.
I hope you enjoyed me spilling my heart and my goals. It's hard to open up and become vulnerable, but a lot of times it's what someone else needs to read. To know someone else doesn't have it all together.
Rae
