We are designing a new t-shirt for our family for this year– for our ever increasing ablities strength and endurance-wise. This is our family T-Shirt from 2012. The saying here is on the back of our family’s workout T-Shirts my grandson and I designed for our three times a week cardio and weightlifting in what I call ‘the hell room.’ lol.
We all wear various workout clothes, but often wear our black tshirts for working out, for we are a fitness team dedicated to treating our bodies as temples. [Even though some of the temple building makes you so weak that after workout–just to brush your teeth you have to hold your head over the toothbrush on the sink and just wag your head back and forth, lol].
The actual Hebrew of this phrase Iron sharpens iron, [some interpret is as steel sharpens steel] means in best light, without egoistic interpretation, to endure, and that being awake, conscious, of the goodness and Godliness in all, causes many who come in contact with that sharpened awakeness, to be sharpened [awakened] also.
We elders especially, were surprised that at the gym, after months of dedicatedly working out as a family, other folks there, like giganticus muscled people who fling around weights like feathers, began nodding to us, then sometimes saying hello, and now a few say, ‘like WOW, go you guys!’
Whether society or health and fitness endeavors to bring the body into clear, clean vision: Teaching by example with regard and respect, not telling/shaming/faulting self or others– that’s the idea.
[Interestingly the word ‘rebuke’ in the old Hebrew carries the direct meaning that what/who one is fixing to rebuke … one must have absolute proof of such need of rebuke, not just blathering, bloviating or holding a personal fantasy of whatever… proofs are part of the structure of laws found in ancient Torah and Talmud, not just because one emotionally ‘feels x or y’ is so.]
This is good to remember in dedicating oneself to new life in fitness of the body and mind and spirit also. Rebuke is actually within the realm of Creator, [judgement is Mine… saith the Lord’] and for making progress in coming back to fitness or running down the paint with some sass [staying within bounds for basketball court] for the first time
–there is no usefulness to rebuke. Better use to learning, listening, doing what is good for health and body and mind and spirit. No judgement. Just resolve… to learn more, do more, listen more.
The phrase “iron sharpens iron… in the scripture goes on to say that as iron sharpens iron, such light is brought in a friend’s face then. When we chose this phrase for our workout shirts, I was thinking of the steel knife blades my grandfather sharpened against the iron and granite stone wheel…
and I was thinking of my own father, sharpening the huge meat cutting knife against the iron rod, back and forth, using all his muscle and endurance to turn the rod over and over, hasping on both sides of the blade, til its edge could literlly cut a hair down the middle.
The phrase about iron sharpening iron, is not an intellectual phrase. It is one that comes from farmers, fishermen, knife and blade makers, disc sharpeners for the plows, blacksmiths and farriers. It is a phrase to be understood in the idea of endeavor and hard work to, by, toward, oneself, and then in service of loving kindness for others. The phrase is not a filly exhortation: it means to work. To do the work.
The phrase ‘iron sharpens iron’ is from a long collection of aphorisms in the ancient Bible that predates Christianity, and the chapter it is in, reads much like a list of quotations would read in a quote book about perhaps the topic of ‘dont be taken in by your own foolishness and judgmentalness’– instead stay to your own strength, cleanliness and light of God. Practice that. It is a self practice ongoing. Iron scraped against iron once, doesnt finish the job. It takes many many repetitions.
Probably, they dont call it sets and reps for no good reason. lol.
There are as you know many ways to interpret negatively and also positively even a phrase like “I love you.” Some lash and gnash at self and/or others, and prefer that dank energy to the light of love. Whether about politics, religion, social justice, education, bodily health.
If asked, I’d say I prefer to hold to the most useful, most lifegiving interpretations of most all matters, including Holy Words, drenched insofar as possible in striving to find caring as one is called, to Praise what is good in oneself and others, and if called and in agreement with all, to help what is not yet strong. The greatest strength, being Love. The greatest work being doing the work.
As always, just my .02.
Iron sharpens Iron… but/and also Love sharpens Love. Both are pretty good New Year’s recommitments.