GREATLY love those Scriptures and truths regardless of what you think.
imho and in my experience
IRON SHARPENING IRON in Scriptural terms
OFTEN involves lots of sparks and heat.
Exhorting one another is also a one another Scripture.
I wrongly seem to have assumed that the relationships and maturity were up to the challenges.
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
I am constantly amazed at the vast number of people who believe that 'iron sharpening iron' refers to conflicts.
When sharpening two iron blades together it is not a matter of hacking and banging the two together in conflict. It is instead running the two blades down the entire length of each other at an exacting angle in a very harmonic and unified way over and over. Anything else does not sharpen, but instead dulls. When done correctly both blades are sharpened at the same time. When iron sharpens iron, both change to become more productive for His kingdom.
We are to be sharpened, and to sharpen others, in order to advance the Kingdom of God. Whether we are talking about a knife, a sword or ourselves, sharpening isn’t done for a passive activity. A blade is sharpened to accomplish a purpose. Christians need sharpening to be effective in the spiritual battle against sin surrounding us, not to battle each other.