I enjoy competition. I love watching individuals and teams compete for the prize of victory and all that comes with that achievement. I am partial to football because of the physicality of the sport. I may even have an unhealthy appreciation for violence (LOL!). But that is a subject for another devotion. 

While I enjoy competition, it can be unhealthy amongst brothers in Christ. Solomon reminds us that we help each grow by using the illustration of iron sharpening iron. If you could imagine the process of iron making another piece of iron sharper, it requires heat and hammering to mold the iron into its finished shape. Humanly speaking, I see the heatas the passion we exhibit as we live out our call from God. And the hammering represents one person helping another person grow and mature as a Christ follower. What a great picture of how we help each other grow as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not a competition but collaboration and co-laboring to advance the Kingdom of our Lord. 

In a competition, someone wins and someone loses. In the Body of Christ, we are all winners and should not see each other as competitors as we serve the Lord together. It would be unhealthy to go from being sharpened by each other to conflict and dissension. Our only competitor is the devil and his evil forces (Ephesians 6). 

Paul reminded us not to think more highly of ourselves than we should and to consider others above ourselves (Romans 12:3). When we remain humble and consider the interests and thoughts of others before our own, we are truly in an iron-sharpen-iron relationship. In this, God is glorified and His Kingdom is advanced.