Iron Sharpens Iron

Kids don’t see adults the way we see ourselves.  This is a fundamental truth, and one that ‘grown-ups’ tend to ignore as inconvenient.

Case in point:  this picture that my daughter drew of me.  I like to think I’m better looking than this.  Maybe it’s vain, but I imagine myself as ruggedly handsome, not elfish in a non-Lord of the Rings kind of way.  If I am honest, I will also admit that I imagine myself as more generous, attentive, patient and loving than I really am.  I also think I’m amazingly humble compared to most people.

The fact of the matter is that other people see our faults (and our strengths) better than we do.  This is why we need teachers, coaches, husbands, wives, music critics…and yes, even mother-in-laws.  It’s also why we need boys’ ranches.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  This is Whetstone’s inspiration not just because it describes our approach to character-building with the boys on our ranch, but because we believe it applies to us as well.  We should never be above criticism.  As an organization, we need others to hold us accountable, to tell us when we go too far right or too far left.  We need your prayers to stay centered on keeping the main thing, the main thing.

That other people sometimes make us feel insecure and self-aware is no reason to avoid them.  On the contrary, we should sit for as many self-portraits as we can stand.

Truth…then beauty.  That’s the natural order of things.