As a pastor with preaching and teaching responsibilities, it is critically important that I know not only what the Bible says, but also what it means. At the same time, I also acknowledge that I neither know nor understand perfectly what the entirety of Scripture says. There are several points that will remain a mystery to me until I meet my Creator, and even then, He may well decide not to tell me. However, what I know and understand about the Bible today is more than I knew and understood a year ago, and significantly more than ten years ago.
Growing in knowledge and understanding didn’t just happen. I have a daily reading time that allows me to continually revisit all of the Bible, but I supplement my own understanding of those words by also reading what others have said about those passages. Some of those that I consult are theologians from past centuries who have left their writings and commentaries behind, and some of them are pastors that I have the honor of serving alongside. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of times where my understanding of a particular verse is different from their understanding, which creates an opportunity for deeper exploration and growth.
As I look around our community, especially the online community, it seems like we have somehow cultivated a different and adversarial approach to the differing opinions and understandings that we encounter. Instead of providing opportunities to learn more about others and the topic at hand, too many people are quick to dismiss those who aren’t one hundred percent in agreement with us. While that approach might make a person feel intellectually superior, it severely restricts the opportunity to grow.
It is possible to have the right answer to a situation and still gain insight from those who reached a different conclusion. How a person reached a particular answer may reveal assumptions and observations that could strengthen your own approach to problem solving, giving you a better chance to have the right answer in a different situation. How a person responds to a discussion of the right answer may help you to understand how to better present your answer, giving a higher likelihood of being accepted and implemented. In other words, the person with the right answer can still experience tremendous personal growth by having the humility to engage with people who came to a different answer.
Proverbs 27:17 speaks to this notion, proclaiming: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We live in community, which affords us the opportunity to grow together and thrive together, but that also requires a conscious effort to engage with an eager spirit that knows that being right is only half the battle. If we are quick to dismiss those who disagree with us, we will never become the community that we can be, and we will never fully become the people that we are capable of being. Therefore, as neighbors, may we allow our iron to sharpen each other, not for the purpose of cutting each other off, but for being better equipped to address the larger battles before us.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron