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“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  Proverbs 27:17 

The former CEO of my long-time corporate employer, a large Wall Street investment bank, used to say that “people will always be in need of the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.”  When he first said this, it was exactly what everyone needed to hear, for it was in the late 1980’s just when the internet was gaining traction in revolutionizing all sorts of commerce, creating fear among those in almost every industry that the new electronic age would soon replace humans altogether.  The financial services industry being at the leading edge of that fear needed to hear our CEO’s inspiring reminder more than ever, that human beings will always need other human beings.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  Looking back, it is amazing how prophetic were the words of our former CEO, for as much as the internet has become a fast and reliable universal resource it has yet to replace the need for human interaction and expertise.  Take medicine, for example, there is all kinds of information about diseases, ailments and conditions on the internet, but when we are ill we still need a doctor, do we not?  The same can be said for almost any profession.  People will always need the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.

“There is a mental sharpness that comes from being around good people,” I read recently in an article, “and a meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them, and shape them into brilliant insights.”  Those words, in fact, are practically the mantra of executive coaching, my current profession, a profession created specifically for the purpose of one person sharpening another.   Ironically coaching as a profession didn’t even exist prior to the evolution of the internet.  Could it be that the overwhelming volume of information available at the mere click of a mouse actually increased awareness of the need for human interaction rather than suppressing it?

Two people who bring their thoughts and ideas together can help each other become sharper – just as iron sharpens iron.  “People will always be in need of the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.”  Technology will never replace that.

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  1 Corinthians 15:5 

“The Bible says my King is the King of the Jews.  He’s the King of Israel.  He’s the King of righteousness.  He’s the King of the ages.  He’s the King of Heaven.  He’s the King of glory.  He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of lords.  That’s my King!  I wonder, do you know Him?  My King is a sovereign King.  No means of measure can define his limitless love.  He’s enduringly strong.  He’s entirely sincere.  He’s eternally steadfast.  He’s immortally graceful.  He’s imperially powerful.  He’s impartially merciful.  Do you know Him?  He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of the world.  He’s God’s Son.  He’s the sinner’s Savior.  He’s the peak of civilization.  He’s unparalleled.  He’s unprecedented.  He is the loftiest idea in literature.  He’s the highest personality in philosophy.  He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology.  He’s the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior.  I wonder if you know Him today.

“He supplies strength for the weak.  He’s available for the tempted and the tried.  He sympathizes and He saves.  He strengthens and sustains.  He guards and He guides.  He heals the sick.  He discharges debtors.  He delivers the captives.  He defends the feeble.  He blesses the young.  He serves the unfortunate.  He regards the aged.  He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meager.  I wonder if you know Him.  He’s the key to knowledge.  He’s the wellspring of wisdom.  He’s the doorway of deliverance.  He’s the pathway of peace.  He’s the roadway of righteousness.  He’s the highway of holiness.  He’s the gateway of glory.  Do you know Him?

“Well, His light is matchless.  His goodness is limitless.  His mercy is everlasting.  His love never changes.  His word is enough.  His grace is sufficient.  His reign is righteous, and His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  I wish I could describe Him to you.  Yes, He’s indescribable.  He’s incomprehensible.  He’s invincible.  He’s irresistible.  You can’t get Him out of your mind.  You can’t get Him off of your head.  You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him.  Well, the Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him.  Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him.  Herod couldn’t kill Him.  Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him.  I wonder if you know Him?”  (“That’s My King!”, from a sermon by the late Dr. S.M Lockridge,) . . . The Lord is risen, and “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak . . .”  James 1:19                   

 A man was going to a party where he would be meeting his wife’s co-workers for the first time.  He felt anxious as the time of the party grew near, wondering whether they would like him or not.  Then he came up with an idea, an experiment, that instead of trying to impress everyone he would simply spend the evening listening, responding with phrases like “I understand what you’re saying, you feel strongly about that. . .” or “Let me see if I understand what you mean. . .”  To his amazement, each person he talked to during the evening seemed content to be listened to without interruption.  On the way home, his wife (whom he had not told about the experiment) told him that a number of people had made a point to tell her what a remarkable person he was.  (Story paraphrased from Attracting Genuine Love by Drs. Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks)

Knowing she was anxious to tell her friends all about our recent trip to Israel, I overheard my wife Tee call someone the other day to visit.  But as it turned out the friend she called had been going through some difficult personal issues and in desperate need of a listening ear from someone who cared.  So, being the kind and thoughtful person she is, Tee graciously postponed her own agenda until another time, devoting the entire conversation instead to the needs of her friend.  Overhearing this it occurred to me what a generous and loving gift my wife had given her friend – to simply listen.

We live in an incredibly noisy society today, thus the competition to be heard is fierce.  Notice, for example, how our elected officials yell at each other rather than debate, how people out in public are constantly texting or chatting on their cell phones, or how often even private conversations become plagued by interruptions, one person trying to one-up the other – all desperate cries to get someone’s attention, to be heard.

So, what a brilliant move by the man who decided to spend his evening listening at the party rather than talking, and what an act of mercy on my wife’s part to listen and be present with her suffering friend!  “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak. . .,” the scriptures remind us.  Or as the famous prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi says, “Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.” . . . . And not so much to speak as to listen.

“. . . where the river flows everything will live.”  Ezekiel 47:9 

“There are two seas in Palestine.  One is fresh, and fish are in it.  Splashes of green adorn its banks.  Trees spread their branches over it, and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing water.  Along its shores the children play.  The River Jordan makes the sea with sparking water from the hills.  So it laughs in the sunshine.  And men build their houses near to it, and birds their nests; and every kind of life is happier because it is there. 

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.  Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children’s laughter.  Travelers choose another route unless on urgent business.  The air hangs heavy above its waters and neither men nor beast nor fowl will drink.  What makes this mighty difference in these seas?  Not the River Jordan.  It empties the same good water into both.  Not the soil in which they lie; not the country round about. 

This is the difference.  The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan.  For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out.  The giving and receiving go in equal measure.  The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously.  It will not be tempted into any generous impulse.  Every drop it gets, it keeps.  The Sea of Galilee gives and lives.  This other sea gives nothing.  It is named the Dead Sea. 

There are two kinds of people in the world.  There are two seas in Palestine.”  

Bruce Barton (1886-1967) 

Somewhere years ago, I had read this little narrative by Bruce Barton, which came to mind during our recent tour of Israel (as it is known today).  Our journey began in the north along the Sea of Galilee, then carried us south more or less alongside the Jordan River toward Jericho, on to Jerusalem, and eventually the Dead Sea.  It is exactly as Barton described.

“. . .where the river flows everything will live.”  Yet, just as there are these two distinctively different seas, there are also two kinds of people in the world.

“And . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.”  – Luke 10:27 

Having spent many hours on airplanes this past week traveling abroad, I caught myself as usual only half listening to the flight attendants’ obligatory instructions about seatbelts, tray tables, the location of the lavatories, and in particular the part about the oxygen masks coming down from above in case of a loss of cabin pressure.  That one always intrigues me, especially when they tell us that if we are traveling with a small child to place the mask on ourselves first before placing it on the child.  It seems backwards to me, counterintuitive; for isn’t it our instinct to take care of the child first?  Yet, the logic actually makes perfect sense, meaning if we take care of ourselves first we are then much better equipped to take care of the needs of the child.

One of my wife’s friends once suggested that when we pray we should pray for ourselves first.  When she shared that idea with me my first impression was much the same as with the oxygen mask and the child.  Should we not focus our prayers first and foremost on the needs of others, I questioned?  Yet the logic is the same, only by taking care of ourselves first are we equipped to tend to the needs of others.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “I can never be all I ought to be, unless you are what you ought to be.  You can never be what you ought to be, unless I am all I ought to be.”  How do we get to be all we ought to be unless we are generous toward ourselves in body, mind, and spirit?  We must have something to give before we can offer it to someone else; otherwise we are of little use.  How can we expect to provide oxygen to a child if we are gasping for breath; or how can we offer spiritual intercession for another when our own soul is malnourished?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” Jesus commanded, “And . . . Love your neighbor as yourself.”  But in order to love our neighbor we must also love ourselves, not selfishly but unselfishly.  Then and only then are we capable and equipped to serve others, to care for and comfort the sick and the poor, to feed the hungry, provide drink to the thirsty, or to place an oxygen mask on a small child.  As Dr. King’s words remind us, “You can never be what you ought to be, unless I am all I ought to be.”